Lost on Familiar Ground
by V.Evergreen
Summary: An accident at the ARC leaves Jess a choice; death or the unknown. As she steps through to a world which she's only read about in the reports she realises what this could mean. She could be stuck there in the past. At the old Arc. With the old team.
1. Chapter 1

Jess's breath quickened as she took in the situation in front of her. It wasn't ideal. Her eyes darted quickly from one anomaly to the other, unable to decide which one to take, for one would lead to certain death but one could be her reprise.

~o~o~o~

It had started off as a fairly normal day at the Arc. There had been a anomaly in the early hours of that morning but it had been an open and shut case. No incursion, no casualties, no problem. In fact it was turning out to be quite a slow day Jess mused as she idly cast her eyes over the monitors in front of her.

Looking back Jess could recognise her mistake. Boredom combined with her lunch hour had led her to think that exploring the disused labs would be a good idea. As she used her wristband to gain access to the third lab so far she realised she had unwittingly entered Connors old lab. The Prospero lab had been abandoned ever since the events of New Dawn with not even Connor venturing inside.

As Jess walked around the centre desk she recognised the technology. It was the prototype that Connor had used that had let in the futuristic beetles. Just the thought of those things made her shiver.

In fact they made her shiver so much so that in her high heels she stumbled forward slightly, grabbing onto the desk in an effort to stay upright. As she righted herself, grateful that no one had been there to witness that, it took her a moment to realise what she had caused.

Sitting on the middle of the desk sat the prototype, a steady and entirely unwelcome whirring filled the room as it emitted from the device.

The wiring was sparking and giving off the air of a very unstable machine but even as Jess watched in morbid fascination an anomaly grew suspended in the air.

There was something different about this one though. Perhaps it was caused by the damage to the machine but this one fluctuated more than any other she had seen. It would grow impossibly big and shrink to almost nothing until it emitted such a light that Jess instinctively threw an arm over her face to protect her eyes.

When she finally opened them she was met by a sight she always prayed she would never meet. In front of her were two anomalies; one seemed to have sprung from the other much in the way that had happened just before Danny Quinn had made his return to the ARC. Jess could feel the panic coiling in her chest, this was only meant to be a quick excursion and now she was pinned into a room by two anomalies; both of which covered her exits.

As the panic threatened to rear its head she forced herself to think rationally. There was no reason why she couldn't just wait here and sit it out. The anomalies would eventually close and in a few minutes someone would see that the anomaly alert had been tipped off and a team would be sent to investigate.

She would wait.

This plan lasted all of three minutes before fate decided to make her decision or her. From the anomaly closest to Jess, a single beetle entered the room.

It was the same type of beetle that still haunted her nightmares and she supposed she should have thought of this eventuality sooner, considering that the anomaly was created by the same machine and therefore the likelihood was that it led to the same place.

Before she could employ anymore explanations a few more beetles crawled forward from the anomaly and Jess skittered away from them.

In the distance she could hear the sound of boots running down the corridor. The team must have been sent down. However, this didn't help her situation at all, the team would be unable to reach her and she unable to reach them.

Unwillingly, Jess was forced to face her options as she gazed speculatively at the second anomaly. It sat there looking almost innocent.

She could hear the door rattle and open and she heard the steady stream of cursing that was let loose when the person on the other side saw the situation.

She recognised the voice of Captain Becker. Her heart almost broke as she thought about what this would do to him.

But she had no choice.

Trying to avoid the beetles that were beginning to stream through once more, Jess tried to hold back the whimper of fear that was trying to break though as she did the one thing she swore she would never do.

She walked through the anomaly with her eyes wide and her lips trembling. Her last memory of the world she had known was the look of her Captain shouting for back up as he looked at her with horrified eyes.

~o~o~o~

The first thing she registered was the sunlight. She squinted against it as she tried with a heavy a heavy heart to figure out what time period she was in.

"On your knees with your hands behind your head. Now!"

The command with which the order had been given and the surprise of hearing another human voice meant that Jess had automatically complied.

It took her a second to realise that the voice was familiar; in fact she had heard it only moments ago.

As her eyes focussed the first thing swam into view was a gun.

Not an EMD or a taser. An honest to god gun.

But it was the person holding the gun which made Jess want to close her eyes and return back to this morning when everything had been fine.

Pointing the gun at her was a slightly younger looking Captain Becker. His eyes held no recognition and his mouth was set in a grim line.

_Today, _thought Jess, _is going to be a long day._

…..

A/N- Hope you like the first chapter and if you do please review, I need to know whether to carry on! All the best-VE


	2. Chapter 2

_Pointing the gun at her was a slightly younger looking Captain Becker. His eyes held no recognition and his mouth was set in a grim line._

_Today, thought Jess, is going to be a long day._

Becker kept her still with a fixed stare and his gun never wavered from it's aim at her chest. With a jerk of his head to the soldiers behind him, one of his men ran forward and performed a quick search on Jess for concealed weapons; only once he declared her clear did Becker lower his gun.

"Right, we need to get her back to the ARC. Someone close up the anomaly." Ordered Becker as he turned to one of the black clad soldiers who was bent over what Jess recognised to be an early prototype of the anomaly locker.

"No need, sir." Replied another soldier (Jess didn't recognise him either, in fact she was wondering just how many soldiers were needed for one organisation) pointing to the anomaly behind Jess. Sure enough it had begun to fluctuate in a way that Jess had come to realise signalled the end of an anomaly life span.

As she looked at the anomaly she was struck by the sudden desire to just leg it through and damn the consequences. The world on the other side of the portal was already beginning to look preferable to this one.

Jess stared morosely at the flickering portal before she realised that something seemed subtly off about it. She was obviously not the only one to realise for at that moment Captain Becker's eyes widened as he took in the situation and dragged one of his men further back from the anomaly that was now contracting violently but had began to shift in the way that they only did before something was about to come through.

Jess tried to move back but the object that was hurled though caught her squarely on the shoulder causing her to fall forward from her kneeling position. As she turned her head slightly from her spot on the ground she barely noticed as the anomaly blinkered out of sight in her peripheral vision, she was too confused.

To her side lay an EMD. One of the big heavy duty ones too, the sort she might have a little bit of trouble holding aloft for too long. She grabbed it quickly before any one else could dart forward and snatch it away and as she looked at it the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

On the side of the EMD was Becker's military tag carved into the identification plate that every weapon had to carry. For all he knew she could be stranded in the Jurassic period but he wouldn't be able to get to the anomaly she had walked through without having to pass though the anomaly that was spewing beetles (she really hoped that that was under control, especially after the mess they caused last time). She had to smile at his quick thinking. He had obviously realised he'd never be able to reach her so instead he had given her the best weapon he could throw through the anomaly after her.

Though his actions made sense and were bordering on the quickest thinking she'd ever seen the Becker that was in front of her most definatly did not seem impressed with the situation. He had gone from having an unarmed possible hostile to having a heavily armed possible hostile,

"Put the gun down", he said trying to sound as unthreatening as possible, he doubted that the woman in front of him would shoot for she looked almost as bewildered as he felt, " we're going to take you back to the ARC, you'll be safe there."

Jess couldn't help the twitch at the corner of her lips as she heard Becker say she was going to be transported to the ARC, the irony seemed to be too great. However, her smile froze on her face as she realised what the full extent of her problem could be. She'd read the old mission reports of the old ARC but she didn't have a clue who she was going to meet.

From what she had seen so far she couldn't tell if Danny had already joined the team, she could guess that Dr. Sarah Page would be there but she didn't know if Professor Cutter had died yet, or the situation with Helen- Her eyes widened at this last though, Helen Cutter was still alive and seeing as she had just come through an anomaly and into this world she had an inkling that many people were going to assume that the events were related. Which meant that she was going to have to spend a lot of her time trying to explain how she came to be there.

Jess was shaken out of her reverie by a gentle but firm grip on her upper arm dragging her upwards and she lifted her head to see Becker helping her stand though he was sure to keep a firm hand on her arm that still held the EMD. He walked her over to one of the three black SUV's that sat by the side of the anomaly site. Just as she was about to get in the car he stopped her,

"What's your name, anyway?"

All things considered this was a pretty loaded question, thought Jess. She couldn't answer it , considering that she was actually alive in this time line but maybe she could decide later at the ARC but for the moment she needed a fake name; an alias. Her mind scrambled for names she could use but came up with a blank. For one wild second she thought about saying her last name was Cutter just to see Becker's reaction but decided that there was probably a time and a place for humour and that this wasn't it. Frantically, she tried to think of any names she could use that wouldn't be recognised, Abi? No, Jenny? No-

"Emily. Emily Merchant." She blurted out a little too quickly to be entirely believable. Becker just raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he climbed in to the drivers seat of the car. Slowly, he pulled away as he began to make his way back to the ARC with his men behind him. He said nothing but did look into the mirror to see what the girl was doing.

She just sat there staring intently at her lap as though thinking intensely; he almost had to roll his eyes, because that was exactly what the ARC needed; another genius who was convinced that his fears for their safety were completely unwarranted.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued the rest of the journey in silence.

…

A/N- First off I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who responded to the first chapter, it's because of you that there is a second chapter so thanks again! If you like the story don't forget to review and feel free to leave a suggestion, all the best- VE


	3. Chapter 3

_He said nothing but did look into the mirror to see what the girl was doing. _

_She just sat there staring intently at her lap as though thinking intensely; he almost had to roll his eyes, because that was exactly what the ARC needed; another genius who was convinced that his fears for their safety were completely unwarranted._

_He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued the rest of the journey in silence._

For Jess, the rest of car journey flew past as her mind flitted from one possible course of action to another. Her main focus was whether she should tell them (she was still unsure of who _they _were; she thought that asking Becker questions about his colleagues would raise too much suspicion for this early on) that she was from the future or just pretend to be completely clueless.

Given that she had walked through an anomaly and had been quickly followed by advanced weaponry, it seemed like a pretty safe guess that the people at the ARC would put two and two together and work out she was from the future. Jess sighed; it looked like she was in for an awkward conversation concerning her origins.

When they arrived at the ARC a soldier held open the door for her to exit the car and Jess was a little touched by the gesture. That was until he motioned as if to take the EMD away from her that she was still clutching onto as though it were a lifeline. With a swiftness that caught the soldier of balance, Jess side stepped and pushed past him pausing only to send him a scathing look. In hindsight she realised that she should have been looking forward as she walked as she had taken no more than two steps before she walked straight into Becker.

"You can't take that inside the building," he said nodding towards the gun, "give it to me and I'll make sure that it gets put in the armoury."

Jess squared her shoulders and straightened her back; glad of the few extra inches of height her shoes lent to her, "Either this comes with me or I don't answer any questions." Seeing Becker's face she hastened to add on to the end of her sentence, "It's not like I'm going to use it, I promise! Its just that I need to have it … you'll see why later I suppose…" in truth Jess didn't think that her life was in danger at all, in fact for the time being she would probably be the safest person in the ARC seeing as she knew that she would be pumped for information.

No, Jess's real concern lay in the fact that in even her time the EMD's were cutting edge technology and she didn't want them getting dissected on some technician's lab table before they were meant to be; after seeing all of Matt's effort and sacrifice to save the timelines she really didn't want to be the one to undo all of his work and screw them up.

"Fine." Said Becker shortly and effectively cutting across her musings, "But you'll have an armed guard with you at all times, and at the first whisper of trouble that _peashooter _is confiscated."

Jess had to try and restrain a smile as Becker finally caught onto the fact that what she was holding was not a real gun though it was as, if not more so, lethal. Jess decided not to set him right about this though, as she had a feeling that she was only being allowed to keep a hold of it due to the fact that it was supposedly safe from causing too much harm.

Having finished their discussion Becker summoned another guard and together they walked Jess into the ARC.

Jess, for one, was astounded at the difference that existed within the old ARC. Whereas her work station in her time had been in a slightly dim windowless room with only the low overhead lights and glowing monitor screens to offer any light, here the ARC was open, airy and filled with light. Work stations were dotted around the room and Jess caught a glimpse of what was easily recognisable as the first model of the ADD.

However, before she was able to get a proper look the soldier and Becker had veered to the left and were walking up a ramp to a clear glass office, leaving Jess no option but to follow behind them.

When they reached the office Becker let them in saying that someone would be in soon to decide what to do with her, before sitting in the corner impassively.

For a moment after she had been led into the office Jess had been at a loss about who they were here to see, but then common sense kicked in. Obviously it would be Lester seeing as even in this time he was head of the organisation and as Jess cast her eyes across the only desk in the room she saw a familiar looking decanter of whiskey sitting half hidden under stacks of paper work.

Jess nearly jumped at the sound of the door closing behind her. Her head whipped around to see the familiar figure of James Lester standing in his office looking slightly confused but for the most part bored. Some things never change, she thought.

He looked much the same as he did in her time, same sort of suit, same expression; in fact the only change was his hair seemed slightly longer and his face freer of stress lines.

"No."

Jess turned slightly in her seat to see if Becker had made any more sense of Lester's speech than he had. Apparently not as he started to speak,

"Excuse me, sir?-"

"You cannot have any more people joining your little team of renegades, I get quite enough complaints and paperwork from you already and I don't need more, thank you very much."

Jess cracked a smile at this though it was quickly changed into a face of indifference at Becker's questioning look.

"This is Emily Merchant. My team and I caught her as she walked through an anomaly earlier today."

Becker's words had an immediate effect on Lester who immediately ran a sharp eye over Jess.

"Walked through an anomaly, you say? Right, you there," said Lester this time directing his words at the soldier of whose name Jess had yet to learn, "fetch Cutter."

….

A/N- Bit of a necessary evil this chapter, I'm afraid. Not much happening but the next chapter should be fast and much more interesting, so fingers crossed! A massive thank you goes out to all those who have responded to this story, I really wasn't expecting it but as ever more reviews are always welcome, all the best- VE


	4. Chapter 4

"_Walked through an anomaly, you say? Right, you there," said Lester this time directing his words at the soldier of whose name Jess had yet to learn, "fetch Cutter."_

Jess's eyes widened at Lester's last statement. Although she was still shocked about her whole situation at least this morsel of information allowed her to figure out what time she actually in.

Seeing as Becker was there Sarah would obviously be working at the ARC since they joined at the same time. Cutter was there as well but if Becker and Sarah had already joined the ranks of the team Jess knew that his death was fast approaching.

Jess felt her eyes cast down as she contemplated this, looking more disturbed by this fact than she was to find herself trapped in the past which was noted by both Lester and Becker as they regarded her.

Soon the door was reopened as Cutter was herded in by the soldier who had been sent to get him. The soldier made as if to follow him into the room but a sharp glare from the Professor sent him hurrying from the room.

Cutter was surprised by the scene that greeted him, not that it showed much on his face. Standing in the corner quiet and observant was the new military captain; sitting at his desk looking as bored and pompous as ever was Lester but that was not what seemed to be slightly off about the scene.

Both of the men's attention was rapt upon a small woman who sat slightly hunched over in her chair with what looked like a serious gun strewn across her lap. As the door clicked shut behind him the woman looked around.

She looked barely out of her teens, like she should be studying at university or talking to her friends about trivial things such as social plans and television. Not sitting in the office of a secret government organisation.

Even as he watched she turned around and he knew he wasn't imagining it when her face turned a shade paler and her eyes widened a fraction.

~o~o~o~

Jess couldn't help the surprise she felt course through her at the sight of Professor Nick Cutter, even though she had been mentally preparing for this moment since she heard his name. It wasn't like she hadn't known what he had looked like; as field co-ordinater she'd had free access to any files on the database.

The real difference was just how _alive _he really looked, the photo's could only convey so much. When neither Lester or Becker showed any inclination to do anything she shifted the EMD from her lap so it rested on the floor against her chair and stood.

Offering only a slightly shaking hand towards the Professor she took a step towards him. With a bemused look upon his features Cutter stepped forward and shook her hand briefly while sending a questioning glance to his colleagues before turning back to her.

"And who are you?" He asked bluntly.

Jess felt herself colour slightly as she realised that he still didn't know why he was there,

"I'm J-Emily." She closed her eyes momentarily hoping no one had spotted her blunder. When she opened them again the bemused look on Cutter's face had been tinted shrewd light that told her immediately that he didn't believe her.

"Why are you here?" He said to her before turning to address Lester, " I can't be called up here every time-"

"It seems we have a problem." Said Lester as he cut across the irate professor's protests calmly, "Miss Merchant here was found as she walked through an anomaly earlier today. Under the circumstances I thought it would be best to call you. Forgive me for the interruption." He finished with a raised eyebrow and a bored tone. It was almost comforting to Jess to know that Lester, at least, remained constant.

His words however, held no comfort at all. Jess watched and began to feel distinctly uneasy as Cutter's eyes narrowed and he looked her as though trying to extract information through sheer will power. He sat down on one of the two chairs opposite Lester and gestured for her to take the other. Nervously she did so.

"What do you know of the anomalies?" Asked Cutter.

"Anomalies?" Said Jess trying to school her face into a passable imitation of confusion, " I don't know what-"

"Don't give me that." Said Cutter with a slight quirk to his lips, " We both know you know what I'm talking about, so tell me, what do you know what about the anomalies?"

Jess opened her mouth to speak but ended up shutting it again. She knew that this moment was inevitable but it seemed a lot harder to actually say the words rather than just think them. "I work at the ARC."

Lester scoffed at her answer "I think we'd know if you worked-"

He was cut off by Cutter holding up a hand to him. He looked affronted but remained silent.

"Ok," said Cutter seemingly pleased that he was getting somewhere, "so you must know a lot about them. What do you know about Helen Cutter?" Cutter never broke eye contact with her but she could see his body tense. Out of the corner of her she saw Lester pull of a face of disdain at the name of the woman who had caused so much trouble and would cause so much more.

"I-I can't tell you." said Jess aware that this was not the answer that they wanted to hear.

"I've got to know. When did you last see her? Where-"

"See her?" Jess almost squeaked, "I've never met her! What, just because I came through an anomaly you think I work with her?"

Cutter seemed slightly fazed by this answer. Jess's honesty was transparent and he decided to believe her on this one since it seemed he had no other option, but he resolved to keep an eye on her just in case.

"Fine." He said shortly, "One last question, how far in the future are you from?"

Quickly, Jess did some rough calculations in her head, "About fifty years, maybe a little bit more." She was quite pleased with this answer. By saying she was from this far in the future she was sure that they would accept that this was why she knew so little about some of them, because she seriously doubted that they would like to be told their entire fate by someone they'd never met.

"Liar." Piped up a voice from the corner.

Jess swivelled towards Becker, slightly surprised as she'd forgotten he was present. Her heart sank when she saw what he was holding. He must have picked it up at some point when her mind had been distracted by trying to avoid all sorts of time paradoxes while talking to Cutter, because she was sure she would have seen him pick up the EMD from the floor if not.

His finger traced over the point where she knew the compulsory identification plaques were welded on. Becker leant forward and passed the weapon to Cutter who looked at it with interest. Jess could see the tag from where she was sat and read it even though she already knew what it said,

_ARC_

_Capt. H. Becker_

_Collar number, 3985_

"Well, unless I really am that dedicated to the job that I'm running about with one of those things in my seventies, you must be lying." Said Becker giving a half stern and half amused glare. Something with which she was all too familiar. As though hit with the days events all at once Jess slumped forward slightly, utterly exhausted.

"I think you had better start explaining, Miss Merchant." Said Lester as he reclined in his chair looking to all the world indifferent. Jess looked at Cutter though tired eyes; he was leant forward ready to listen to whatever she said, a look of intent concentration on his face.

Jess sighed, there was only one way to deal with this really.

…

A/N- Hope you liked the chapter, it was a lot of fun to write. Thank you so much for your responses, it really means a lot to know that people like your stories. All reviews and any suggestions are entirely welcome! All the best- VE


	5. Chapter 5

"_I think you had better start explaining, Miss Merchant.__"__ Said Lester as he reclined in his chair looking to all the world indifferent. Jess looked at Cutter though tired eyes; he was leant forward ready to listen to whatever she said, a look of intent concentration on his face. _

_Jess sighed, there was only one way to deal with this really._

If she hadn't have been so weary Jess would have undoubtedly been uncomfortable under the close scrutiny of the three other people in the room, as it was she just resigned herself to what she would have to do.

"Well, for starters," she began, "my name isn't Emily. It's Jess. And where I'm from…" Jess mumbled the last part inaudibly.

"For god sake speak up!" Said Lester impatiently from across his desk.

"I'm from 2012." Said Jess loudly before carrying on in a faster and more worried tone than before, "I just said I was from further in the future… I didn't want to cause any trouble! When I first joined the ARC all everyone said was be careful of the time lines! One tiny thing goes wrong and suddenly BANG!" Jess said her voice growing steadily louder and her hand gestures more erratic. "One mistake and before you know it you've sent a raptor back into Victorian London!" She tailed off her rant to see that all of the men in the room had gone quiet while watching rant; she began to feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

Silence reigned in the office for a moment before Lester broke it, though wisely deciding that he wasn't going to ask about the raptor comment for the sake of his blood pressure.

"You said your name is Jess, what's your surname?"

"I can't tell you…I'm alive in this time, it might get complicated if you…"

"Well it's hardly like I'm going to bring you in for questioning is it?" Scoffed Lester, "Contrary to popular belief I do quite like things to run smoothly."

Jess weighed up her options for a second; on the one hand she really didn't want to give them her surname for she knew that she could be searched for and found in a heartbeat, but on the other hand she _knew_ Lester. She trusted him and knew that deep down he had only his teams best interests at heart, even if he denied it until his dying day.

"Parker. Jess Parker."

"Right, Miss Parker start from the beginning."

"Well, what do you want to know? I can't tell you everything… can I? It would make it a bit easier if you knew everything, but you won't want to hear- this must be what it's like to be Matt-"

"Wait, stop." Said Becker, holding up a hand to stop the rapid flow of words, "Slow down. Who's Matt?"

"Oh, Matt's the new team leader," said Jess oblivious to the way that Cutter had tensed slightly at her words, "he's your friend…well, sort of. He did shoot you once, but you did deserve it-"

Jess broke off seeing Becker's shocked face before hastening to add, "With an EMD, not a real gun!" There was a pause in the conversation.

"So Matt's your team leader?" Said Cutter with an odd humourless smile on his face.

Jess's face paled at his words when she realised she'd let slip. "Oh God," she whispered, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Said Cutter firmly, "Just tell me one thing. What happened to Helen?"

Jess swallowed thickly before she answered, "She tried to wipe out humanity, three people followed her though an anomaly. Two of them stayed where they were but one of them carried on after Helen. He saw her die."

Both Lester and Becker looked shocked at this news and though he tried to hide it Jess could see the relief under Lester's work façade. Cutter only continued to look at her, his expressions hidden underneath a mask of thoughtfulness.

"Well," he said softly, his accent lilting his words, "now the only question is how to get you back to your own time. How did you get here in the first place, it seems a pretty big coincidence that you ended up only a few years into the past."

"We had a machine." Said Jess looking at her lap and fiddling with the hem of her sleeve, "A machine that could make anomalies, there was, well…a bit of a drama with it and it was stored away but…I sort of, accidentally, turned it on. Long story short, I had to walk through the anomaly."

Both Lester and Becker looked as though they wanted to question her story but Cutter talked over them,

"Do you think you could make another of these machines?"

The question made Jess pause, she had seen the plans and occasionally Connor would bounce ideas off of her seeing as she was the only one who would understand even half of what he said so she supposed that it might be possible to create a similar device. If she had help.

She voiced this to Cutter when Lester sat a little straighter,

"We would be happy to offer you any technicians you would require until you manage to rebuild this device-"

"I'll only need one." Said Jess. She sounded confident when she said this. It was a far cry from the rambling woman who had occupied her chair only moments before.

"Ok," said Lester giving her a questioning glance, "you may have one person help you-"

"It's a specific someone." Said Jess, really beginning to feel the full extent of her exhaustion as she realised who she was going to have to meet, "I'm going to need Connor Temple's help."

All three of the men in the room shared a uneasy glance, each unwilling to say the next sentence,

"Look," said Cutter, "the boy's got a good brain on him but I'm not sure how much help he'll be-"

"It's ok," said Jess rubbing a hand over her eyes in equal parts of frustration and tiredness, "You don't understand." She paused as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, "Is there anywhere I can lay down for a bit?"

"Yes, of course." Said Lester, "Becker, would you show her to the accommodation?"

"Of course." Said Becker automatically. He waited for Jess to stand up and even let her pick up the EMD, probably sensing that she would be no harm now that they had talked to her.

In fact everything seemed to go quite well as they both walked down the ramp and across the main work area. That was until a certain voice piped up behind them,

"Yo, Action Man!"

….

A/N- Thank you once more to all of the lovely people who out there who responded to the story, I hope you like this bit! More reviews would be loved but until next time, all my best- V


	6. Chapter 6

_In fact everything seemed to go quite well as they both walked down the ramp and across the main work area. That was until a certain voice piped up behind them,_

"_Yo, Action Man!"_

Without even turning around Jess knew who it was and judging by the almost imperceptible sigh that Becker gave he did too.

"Yes, Connor." He said with exaggerated patience.

"Whoa! No need to be like that!" Connor replied still smiling, "Just came over to see what was happening in Lester's office. Didn't mean to interrupt you and your _girlfriend._"

Jess couldn't help the small smile that played around the edges of her mouth when she realised that despite the years that had passed and the hardships he had faced, Connor never really grew up.

"She isn't my girlfriend, Temple." Said Becker through gritted teeth.

"Who is she then? Wait, sorry," said Connor as he turned slightly to Jess, "I'm Connor Temple, who are you?"

Jess smiled at this. It seemed like Connor had stayed almost the same since her time. He looked quite different; the Connor from her time had been lean but strong from his time in the wild but the boy in front of her was barely older than her and a little chubbier around the face than she remembered, but the personality seemed the same.

"Jess Parker," she said and shifted the EMD to the other hand. Connor's eyes bugged out slightly when he saw the gun that she was carrying but he still shook her outstretched hand eagerly, "I'm new here, but if everything goes according to plan" she threw a questioning glance up to Lester's office where she knew she was still being discussed, "I think we're going to working together on a project."

Connor seemed to light up at this statement,

"Cool! 'Cause I've been having some ideas about what an electromagnetic wave could do to one of the anomalies. In theory, and this is just a stab in the dark, we should be able to _lock_ them." His voice had lowered to a whisper as he said the last part as though departing with a great secret.

Jess smiled at the genuine enthusiasm in is voice but her tiredness was beginning to take over. It must have shown because the next thing she knew Becker had placed a guiding hand under her elbow and after throwing an excuse at Connor was leading Jess down the hallways.

"You handled him quite well."

In her befuddled state it took a moment for Becker's words to sink in. Her pause was misinterpreted by Becker who looked down on her with barely concealed worry,

"You have met him before haven't you?"

Jess nodded before she gathered her wits to talk, decidedly not correcting him on the team members that she'd never had the chance to meet.

"Yeah, I've met him. I get on with him… comes in handy 'cause we used to live together…" Jess's words became muffled by a yawn that wouldn't let her carry on speaking.

Becker was disconcerted by her last sentence. She wasn't from too far in the future and he couldn't imagine Connor had changed that much. It was a strange thought that Connor would be with Jess especially because he was well…_Connor._

When they finally reached the room in which Jess would be staying Jess was all but swaying on her feet. She barely noticed how similar her room was to the room that had been assigned to Emily before she had bid goodnight to Becker and collapsed on her bed.

~o~o~o~

When Jess awoke the first thing she was aware off was the strangeness of her new surroundings. It took a few seconds before the details of the day before made themselves known.

Groaning she sat up in her bed still unwilling to go outside and face what was waiting. She both surprised and pleased that someone had laid out some clothes for on the end of the bed. Nothing fancy but practical; clothes that would be ideal for building a device to open the anomalies.

A few minutes later she was dressed and ready to go in search of the canteen. She found it eventually and wasn't surprised to find it empty, especially given how early it was. She was equally unsurprised when it turned out the first person in was Becker. He made his way over to sit opposite her looking somewhat conflicted.

Jess couldn't help the little smile that appeared on her face; it was so unusual to see Becker show any emotion from her time so it was quite the novelty to see him display it so freely here. Finally, she decided to put him out of his misery,

"Good morning." She said with a smile.

"Morning." He said still sounding distracted.

Frowning slightly she said, "Is there something wrong-"

"What's it like, the future?"

His question caught her off guard. She had been expecting a lot of questions like this one but somehow she never thought of Becker asking. As she looked at him she was taken aback to see him giving her his undivided attention, patiently waiting for her answer,

"Well," she said cautiously, "I can't tell you everything, but what would you like to know?"

Becker sat there with a serious expression on his face before asking, "Do the anomalies get worse?"

Jess smiled sadly at him, " I can't answer that… it doesn't mean they get worse though and I just don't want to tell you… just ask another question!" She said quickly before her natural urge to babble took over and she began to tell him everything.

Becker smirked at the rambling of the young woman in front of him before casting his mind around for another question, he knew that there was a chance that she wouldn't have been able to answer his question so it wasn't really a great loss but he still would've liked to know. He was about to admit defeat before something Jess had said from yesterday stuck in his head,

"Why did Matt shoot me?"

He knew he wasn't imaging the suppressed smile on Jess's face,

"You said the EMD's weren't effective and told Matt to shoot you. Said that if you thought they were any good you would use them." Said Jess who sniggered at the memory.

"My name was on the one you brought through, must've worked." Noted Becker.

Jess couldn't help the laugh that escaped at the memory of Becker begrudgingly admitting that EMD's would work in the field, but decided not to enlighten him.

"Next question." She said, beginning to enjoy the new game.

"Um..ok… How long have you lived with Connor?"

"_Used_ to live with him." Jess corrected before taking a sip of her breakfast drink trying to stall for time. It was an innocent enough question but she had to try and find an explanation as to why he didn't have his own place that didn't involve him being stuck millions of years in the past.

"Did you break up with him?" Asked Becker curiously.

Jess choked on her drink at Becker's question. How had he got that idea? Just because she said they had lived together…oh. She realised then that she probably have mentioned that Abby lived there too.

Becker for his part watched in confusion and amusement. He hadn't expected his question to get such a response but it was quite funny watching Jess turn bright red.

"No! We weren't going out! He and Abby didn't have anywhere to stay so I offered them a place to sleep. Anyway he just got engaged." Said Jess watching for Becker's reaction.

He didn't disappoint. He looked as shocked as she'd ever seen him and once again she couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"To who?" Demanded Becker obviously more interested in this than the fact that she said he'd been shot only a few moments before

"Now that would be telling." Said Jess though a smile.

Becker looked as though he was about to retort but was interrupted by Lester who had made a beeline for them when he walked into the canteen.

"Ah Miss Parker, if you're going to working with Temple I do believe it's time we tell him about your _situation_."

Snapping back to the present Jess nodded once and got up to follow Lester to where she was absolutely dreading telling a hyperactive sci-fi geek that she was from the future.

…..

A/N- Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews and suggestions are all welcome and if I've just posted my first primeval oneshot if anyone's interested, all the best- VE


	7. Chapter 7

"_Ah Miss Parker, if you're going to working with Temple I do believe it's time we tell him about your situation." _

_Snapping back to the present Jess nodded once and got up to follow Lester to where she was absolutely dreading telling a hyperactive sci-fi geek that she was from the future._

Jess was really beginning to wish that Connor would say something. It had been a full minute since she had told him just where exactly it was that she was from and he had yet to make a sound. It was actually quite unnerving to see him so quiet.

She turned to look at Lester and Becker both of whom were standing behind her having confirmed her story. Lester was looking bored as he checked him watch once more while Becker stood staring impassively ahead.

Finally Connor broke the silence, "How do we know you're not like Helen?" He asked.

"I can vouch for her story," said Lester, "she is who she says she is."

"Not everyone who comes through the anomalies is like her." Said Jess gently thinking of both Matt and Emily. She supposed she was just as much of an enigma to them as Matt had been to her now.

Connor still looked dubious but Jess could see the excitement building in is eyes. "Do you want me to prove it to you?"

Connor nodded and without looking Jess could tell that she had the attention of everyone in the room, "How are you gonna do that?" He asked.

Jess wracked her brains for something to tell him but try as she might she couldn't find anything. There must be something after all the time she spent with him and Abby…Aha!

Jess smiled brightly as she said "What about your computer password?"

Connor smiled a little at that, obviously confident that even his future self would never tell anyone that, "Go on then." He said with a small smirk on his face.

Leaning forward and motioning for him to do the same she whispered two words in his ear that made his eyes widen in shock. When she drew back from him she couldn't help but laugh at his face.

"Y-you really are from the future then?" He asked wide-eyed.

"Yep." Said Jess with a grin.

"And you want help. From me?" The last sentence that Connor said came out as a more of a question than a statement. Jess added another thing to mental list of differences between her time and this; in her time Connor had more confidence in his own abilities.

"Of course." She said before adding on worriedly, "If that's ok with you, I mean I know you're probably busy."

"I do have the anomaly locker to work on… you wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" He asked hopefully.

Jess smiled as she answered, "Tell you what, you help me and I'll help you." Connor's answering smile was all the confirmation she needed.

~o~o~o~

As Jess walked down the halls to an empty lab that had been assigned to her with Becker (she got the feeling that Lester still didn't trust her completely) she was woken by her thoughts by Becker's voice.

"So what did you say to him anyway?" When she looked up at Becker she found him looking at her curiously.

"I can't tell you," She said thinking of the two words in question and smiling when she thought about what they meant.

"I won't tell anyone." He said but Jess wasn't fooled. She knew the minute she told him that he would tease Connor mercilessly for it for longer than he probably should.

"No." She said firmly before adding, "I know something about everyone, it wouldn't be fair to tell anyone else."

"What do you know about me then?" Asked Becker with a raised eyebrow.

Jess blushed when he said this. It wasn't a question of what she knew about him, it was more a question of what she _didn't_ know about him. She had stalked though his file and old mission reports more times than she would freely admit. Becker saw the blush but having no idea what to make of it, didn't call her out on it.

They carried on walking until they reached the doors of the lab that Jess had been allowed to use and she spun around to face him triumphantly,

"I know your first name!" She said, proud of the fact that she had found something to tell him that didn't make her come off as some sort of creepy stalker.

"Oh really?" Said Becker sceptically, every since he joined the military he had made it one of his personal goals to keep his first name to himself. It wasn't that he was particularly ashamed of it but the nicknames that other soldiers could come up with could be quite…inventive. Not to mention the ribbing he would get from Temple every single day.

Jess just smiled at him looking perfectly innocent to all the world but Becker could see the gleam of mischief in her eyes.

"Go on then." He challenged.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it!" Said Jess with the same smile on her face. Becker smirked as Jess half opened the door to the lab, he wasn't surprised that she didn't know, he didn't tell anyone. It wasn't until he was halfway down the corridor on his way back to the armoury that he heard Jess shout from her still half open door,

"Goodbye Hilary!"

He turned around in shock just in time to see her disappear behind the door as she laughed at the shock on his face.

~o~o~o~

Jess closed the door but continued to smile as she remembered the look of disbelief that flitted across Becker's face. However, she was quickly sobered as she looked around the lab at all of the equipment she was going to need. Connor had agreed to start helping her tomorrow seeing as she was going to need to use today to write down all of the notes she could remember from the machine that brought her here.

She settled onto one of the metal stools and began to work. Not five minutes had passed before the lab door flew open and a woman strode in with her head turned as she talked to someone behind her. It wasn't until the woman looked forward and froze at the sight of someone else in her lab did Jess fully recognise who it was.

The woman who had entered the room smiled at Jess and walked forward, "Sorry, for bursting in," she said while extending a hand "I'm Sarah Page.

….

A/N- A genuine thank you to all those people who've responded to this story, it's so comforting to know that people actually read what I write! Hope you like the chapter and if you do please feel free to leave a review, lots of love- VE


	8. Chapter 8

_The woman who had entered the room smiled at Jess and walked forward, "Sorry, for bursting in," she said while extending a hand "I'm Sarah Page._

Jess froze as Sarah spoke to her. It seemed more surreal to her than meeting Cutter had. She had heard so much about Sarah; been told so much of her quirky humour and fiery temper that in her old time she had feel almost as if she knew her.

Jess knew that it was almost inevitable that she would meet Sarah Page in this time but she had always pictured being given at least a little time to prepare herself so she wouldn't just freeze. Like she was doing now.

Slowly Jess extended her own hand to shake Sarah's. "I'm Jess." She said quietly, her usual enthusiasm having vanished on the spot.

Sarah just gave her another friendly smile and walked over to the corner of the room where she begun to order some papers, "Sorry," She said, "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just had some stuff to collect."

Having collected her papers Sarah walked across the room towards the door, walking past Jess as she did so. She glanced down at Jess's workings; mildly curious as to what this young woman could have commandeered a whole lab for and froze. Her eyes widened as she looked down at what Jess had managed to remember so far,

"Wow," she breathed, "that's amazing!" Jess looked up in shock at her praise and then in quiet horror as Sarah pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

"What are you working on?" Asked Sarah, still focussed on the equations in front of her.

"It's just general research into the anomalies, really." Said Jess looking down at her work, trying to avoid having to go into more explicit detail.

"But you've got further into the mechanics of them than any of our researchers!" Said Sarah. Jess blushed when she said this, knowing that the only reason she knew it was because it had already been known at her ARC.

It was this thought that made Jess stop for a second; should she tell Sarah?

It was only a time before she, along with Abby found out where she was from but in that moment Jess couldn't bring herself to tell the woman in front of her; she knew that if Sarah were to ask any question about her future she wouldn't be able to lie to her. It would all come out in a shocking torrent of rambling and that was something Jess was keen to avoid.

~o~o~o~

Sarah watched the young woman in front of her as she remained fixated on her work. There was something subtly off about Jess, she could tell. She seemed shifty and she refused to meet Sarah's eyes, instead staring at her work.

Sarah took another look at the girls work; it was undeniably brilliant. Of what Sarah could understand of it, it was genius but impossible. It looked so simple when it was written down yet so elusive before you could actually see it. Making her decision she stood from her chair and frowning slightly when she saw Jess's face alight in barely concealed relief,

"Come with me," Sarah said, "I've got something to show you."

~o~o~o~

Jess was too stunned to protest as she followed Sarah though the corridors and into another lab. The first thing she registered was Cutter who raised his eyebrows when he saw her. She quickly turned away and gasped when she saw what was taking up a majority of the floor space. It looked like a mess of wire and rods but Jess knew without a doubt what it really was. It was the first 3D model of the time streams and the anomalies. She used a similar model for the ADD back home but never before had it seemed so tangible, so _visceral_.

She circled around it as she took it all, being careful to not so much as breath on it in fear that she might change it.

"So you know what it is then?"

Jess looked around to Cutter with a smile on her face that answered his question.

Cutter returned her smile with a nod and turned back to his work. Sarah walked over to him and looked over his shoulder at his work; it was definitely in the same field as Jess's but there was no denying that the girl's work was a good deal more accurate.

"Would this be of any use to you?" She asked as she held out the notes from Jess's desk that she had quickly taken without the other woman noticing, she did however see Jess's eyes widen in surprise. Cutter took the notes and did a double take as he actually read the equations.

He looked at Jess, "Do you mind if I use these?" He asked with barely concealed anticipation.

Jess shook her head begrudgingly, "No, course you can." She said. She couldn't believe Sarah had managed to pinch them while she wasn't looking and despite the fact she knew that her work would benefit from being confidential she couldn't help but be impressed rather than annoyed at the older woman.

From the corner of the room Cutter suddenly straightened from where he had been bent over working at his desk. He walked over to the corner of the room and got a long pole, not unlike the ones used to make the complicating representation that dominated the room. Carefully, making sure his hands didn't shake he added the extra pole to the mass of the others, weaving it into the chaos, while Sarah and Jess looked on in silence. When he took a step back he exhaled slowly and smiled,

"Unless I'm very much mistaken," He said as he turned to look at them, "I think we may have just made our very first prediction."

…..

A/N- Thank you for reading! I know this chapter was a bit dull but a necessary evil I'm afraid, on the plus side it all gets very exciting next chapter! Reviews are very welcome and a massive thank you to those who've responded to this story! All the best-VE


	9. Chapter 9

"_Unless I'm very much mistaken," He said as he turned to look at them, "I think we may have just made our very first prediction."_

Jess could barely hold back her excitement as she watched Cutter tell the rest of the team about the prediction. She stood a little way behind him watching all of the drama unfold. She had read all of the old mission reports but despite her almost photographic memory she couldn't recall what would happen with this particular anomaly, but she was determined to find out. The odds were she would be stuck here for quite a while and while she loved her work there was only so much time she could spend trying to piece together future technology.

Looking around she realised that she still hadn't actually been introduced to Abby and if the curious stare the blonde was sending her way was any indication Abby was most definitely wondering what she was doing there. She ducked her head, sure that it could wait until later.

It was then that Cutter finished explaining his new prediction (Jess was thankful that he left her contribution out) and started delegating people to go and wait for the anomaly to appear and just generally check out the site. Quickly she walked forward,

"I'm going too." She said sounding much more confident than she felt.

Both Abby and Jenny, who had walked up to stand with them, raised an eyebrow at this. Connor looked to Cutter to see what his reaction to this would be and Jess just stood there trying to look as though she wasn't waiting for his answer.

"Okay then." Said Cutter with a half smile, "Suppose you helped find it in the first place." Jess just smiled at his answer. It felt nice to be of use somehow in a way that didn't involve sitting behind a desk as she racked her brain for answers.

Evidently not everyone felt the same as he announcement was met by immediate protests, the loudest being from Becker,

"We've never seen her in the field. We can't put someone in danger like that!" He said looking at Jess doubtfully.

"We can't just let civilians into the field, Cutter." This protest had come from Jenny Lewis, a woman whom Jess had only ever spoken to very briefly, but respected all the same after the stories she had heard from Abby and Connor.

Deciding it was time to step in Jess cleared her throat and held out her hand to Jenny, "Jess Parker." She said with what she hoped came off as a professional smile and not a manic over-excited smile, " I'm not exactly a civilian."

Jenny narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "What are you then?"

Jess opened her mouth but out of the corner of her eyes she saw Cutter shake his head discreetly, "That's classified." She said feeling as though she had only made the situation worse.

Jenny looked ready to retort but before she could even make a sound she was cut off by Becker, "Do you even have any field experience?" He asked still looking at apprehensively.

Jess felt her chin lift slightly, she might not have much actual experience in the field but the way she saw it there was no reason why he should have to know this, "Yes," she said trying to sound as dignified as possible, " I do. So I'll be going anomaly sight to help."

Jess really didn't feel the need to mention that the only time she'd been in the field was the time she had brought Becker chinese and ended up defusing a bomb, or the time that the field had been brought to her when the future beetles had compromised the ARC the first time.

Becker didn't say anything else but Jess was left under no illusion that he wanted her to go, but as long as he wasn't going to stop her she wasn't going to complain.

~o~o~o~

It turned out that the place of the potential anomaly was an abandoned house. As she, Abby, Connor and Jenny all stood looking at it she found herself very unwilling to move any closer. She still couldn't recall reading the specific details about this mission although reports from the early days of the ARC had always been sparse for detail.

There was something about this house that she didn't like, for such a grand looking house it had been left alone to rot. The wood of the porch was peeling and plants that had been left unattended grew with wild abandon; covering the flowerbeds and starting to creep up onto the house. It was the epitome of eerie.

Abby and Jenny walked ahead towards the house and Jess found herself walking with Connor as they crossed a spindly looking bridge to get from thicket of forest where the cars were parked to the overgrown lawn.

"Are you sure that you should be here?" Asked Connor from behind in a whisper.

Jess gave him a strange look, "Well, I'm not exactly going to change much am I?" She asked.

Connor continued to look worried, "Well, you never know." he said in a hushed tone, wary of the two woman that could over hear their conversation just ahead of them, " Hey are you going to tell Abby about you being… you know, _from the future_?"

Jess thought about that for a second before answering, "Suppose I will at some point, not exactly sure how she'd take it though."

Connor laughed as she said that and soon enough Jess was laughing along with him.

~o~o~o~

Abby wasn't sure what to think of the new girl that was tagging along with them as they checked out the new anomaly sight. She hadn't really introduced herself to Abby yet and Abby only knew her name because she had seen her tell Jenny. All she knew was that whoever she was was being kept very hush-hush. No one had been able to tell her at her at the ARC and Lester had refused to discuss it all together.

She wasn't even sure about why the girl was an addition to the team but she had assumed that when Cutter had let slip that she had helped him with his calculations and predictions that she would be kept on as a lab worker or a researcher. It was all very strange.

She looked back when she heard the sound of laughter. Both Jess and Connor were attempting to hide their laughter as she turned around to look at them. That was another thing, she had no idea how Connor was so at ease around her, but he seemed to have taken to her if his smile was anything to go by.

Shaking herself out of her reverie Abby climbed up the steps of the porch and placed her hand on the rough wood of the door. With a steadying breath, she pushed it open.

…

A/N- Thank you once again for reading, I hope you liked it! I don't know if you've realised yet but this story is following the plot line of 3x02 so you know who'll be making an appearance in the next chapter!… or maybe you don't. Anyway please don't forget to leave a review, all the best-VE


	10. Chapter 10

_Shaking herself out of her reverie Abby climbed up the steps of the porch and placed her hand on the rough wood of the door. With a steadying breath, she pushed it open._

As it turned out the door wouldn't open. Abby pushed against it once and rattled the handle. Nothing. She had all but given up when the door had swung upon. She was greeted by the smiling face of Connor,

"Window was open," he said looking pleased with himself, "nobody's in."

Abby walked past him and smiled whilst Jenny gave him a narrowed eyed stare for trying to scare them. Abby looked around in time to see Jess crossing the threshold with a smile on her face. She still didn't know what it was but she knew that she didn't trust that girl.

~o~o~o~

As Jess walked in she couldn't help but feel slightly awed by her surrounding. It wasn't just that the house was big, though it was, it was more the feel of grandeur that still pervaded the walls even though the furniture lay either rotting or in tatters.

Whilst the others talked about why the house must have been abandoned she edged towards one of the side rooms and poked her head round the corner. Just like the reception area the room was spacious and must have once been luxurious but now it was empty with paper peeling from the wall and a general air of unkemptness.

Jess was brought back to her situation by the other's voices drifting from behind her.

"-it stinks in here." Said Connor as he took in the large spaces and high ceilings.

"Could be the sewers, or maybe the damp." Jenny said quietly as she too looked around the room.

"It's more like they've been keeping animals." Voiced Abby as she looked around with her nose scrunched up against the smell.

Jess walked back to the rest of them unwilling to go on by herself, she didn't know what was going to appear here but Abby's comment about the animals brought it back to her.

"Right," she said glad that the others didn't notice that the pitch of her voice seemed just slightly too high, "shall we have a look around?" In truth she didn't want to look around at all, her every instinct was telling her to get out of that room, but the sooner they got out of there the happier she would be.

Abby and Jenny both took the upper floor while she and Connor made their way to what once must have been the kitchen. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary but Jess opened a few cupboards just to be sure. Just when they were about to leave having found nothing but dust an ear splitting scream rent through the air,

"CONNOR!" The voice was unmistakably Abby's and without even thinking through what could be waiting for them Connor and Jess ran for the stairs. Connor ran ahead taking the stairs two at a time in his haste to make it to Abby. When he reached the landing he wrenched upon the door to which the scream had come from and was confronted with an empty room.

"Abby?" He called walking into the middle of the room as he looked for her. Jess walked through the door to stand beside him but she couldn't see her future flatmate either. She tried to remain calm, after all she knew that Abby would walk away from this but it didn't make the waiting any easier. "Abby?" He called again standing still in the middle of the room as he strained to hear an answer.

A sudden noise made both of them turn sharply. Soot fell from the fireplace at the other end of the room and cautiously Connor made his way to stand by it with Jess hovering just behind him.

Jess turned away and walked over to the other end of the room to check under the furniture coverings before a sudden cry out made her look back to Connor.

Her fear was soon assuaged by the sight of Abby snickering as she looked at Connor. It was obvious that Abby had just jumped out at Connor and couldn't stop laughing about it but Jess was just relieved that she was fine.

She couldn't hear what they were saying since they talked so softly but there seemed to be some sort of awkward exchange between them as when she looked on she saw Connor stumble over his words and then be effectively silenced when Abby stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Even when Abby danced out of the room she left a shell shocked Connor in her wake. He caught sight of Jess in the corner of the room and turned an even brighter red.

Jess was just about to follow after Abby when she heard Connor speak,

"Jess?" He said hesitantly and almost…shyly.

"Yeah?" She said wondering what he was going to say and why it would cause him to go beetroot red.

"Do we.. I mean do me and Abby ever…" Connor trailed off before clearing his throat, "Are we ever a couple?"

Jess looked back at him at a loss of how to answer. She didn't want to lie to him, not when it had evidently cost him a bit of pride to ask her but at the same time she didn't want to tell him. After all if you took all of the surprises out of life where would all the fun be? She smiled as she came up with the solution,

"Oh yes," Said Jess, her voice dripping with what was almost Lester like proportions of sarcasm, " you even get engaged!" With that she walked out of the room only sparing a glance to Connor who looked so confused as to what believe that she knew she hadn't really given him an answer.

She met with Jenny and Abby back downstairs in the reception area and smiled at them both. Jenny gave her a cordial smile in return while Abby just looked away. Jess sighed inwardly, she was going to have to tell Abby the truth soon but she doubted that that was going to make her trust her any more than she already did. As Connor caught up with them they made to leave the house,

"Well, that was eventful." Said Jenny, unable to completely mask the relief in her voice

"It's a nice place isn't?" Interrupted a new voice. It's owner was holding up a police badge as he rested casually against the wooden struts of the porch with his back turned to them. Even though she couldn't see this person's face she knew immediately who it was,

"You care to say what you're doing here?" He carried on as he turned to face them.

As Danny Quinn stood facing them all with suspicion etched on every line of his face as he regarded them, Jess couldn't help but think that her day was just going to go down hill from there.

….

A/N- Thank you all for reading, and for the responses for the last chapter, I was blown away! Anyway I've stuck to the actual show so far but in the next chapter we have a Abby and Jess confrontation, some awkward conversations with Danny about his brother and some Becker thrown in! What more could you ask for?

If you liked this chapter please leave a review, it's great to hear from you! Also since I'm edging the 100th review I'd just like to say that whoever actually puts the 100th review can PM me with a Jess/Becker quote, idea or moment J

All the best,

VE


	11. Chapter 11

"_It's a nice place isn't?" Interrupted a new voice. It's owner was holding up a police badge as he rested casually against the wooden struts of the porch with his back turned to them. Even though she couldn't see this person's face she knew immediately who it was,_

"_You care to say what you're doing here?" He carried on as he turned to face them. _

_As Danny Quinn stood facing them all with suspicion etched on every line of his face as he regarded them, Jess couldn't help but think that her day was just going to go down hill from there._

They all froze for a second before Jenny, the first one to regain her composure spoke, "Just visiting." She said in a bright but brittle voice.

Danny gave her an unimpressed look as he turned to face them all, "Well the way I see it you're either burglars or trespassers."

Jenny smiled with a bit more confidence now that she was over the shock of an unexpected civilian at a possible anomaly sight, "Do we look like trespassers to you?" She asked letting sarcasm taint her words. Connor snickered slightly in the background.

Jess was still reeling from the unexpected familiar face once again. She realised that she was probably staring but Danny was too caught up in arguing with Jenny to notice. She hadn't known him very well in her time but she knew a lot about him from either the old files or stories from both Connor and Abby, somehow he had always seemed less… hostile in their recounting of events.

"I should arrest you all, but to be quite frank I can't be bothered." Jess was pulled from her daze by the semi threatening words that were being directed at them now. Though the words were accusatory Danny simply looked bored. It only took a minute to work it out in her head; this was the place were Danny thought his brother had died, no doubt there had been countless people parading through the house trying to pick up on a bit of local history.

"You people aren't worth the paper work." He continued, "Now go."

Slowly and slightly shamefaced they filed past Danny to walk back the way they had came. Jess followed Jenny until she heard Connor turn around and speak to Danny once more,

"What do you mean 'you people'?" He asked curiously. Anger began to overtake Danny's features but Jess broke in first,

"He means murder tourists," She said quietly, "people who came to the house just because someone died there." Connor looked a her in shock and when she looked at Danny he looked equally angry just more suspicious, "I'm sorry about your brother Detective Inspector Quinn." She said to him before turning to walk away and ignoring the shocked faces of Abby and Jenny. She truly was sorry about what had happened to Patrick. She could never forgive what he had done, the memory of the panic she felt when she watched on her monitor as Emily was hauled away at gun point and Becker lay upon the floor unmoving was too deeply ingrained for that, but she wished he hadn't suffered to become the sick and twisted person she had known.

"What do you know about my brother?" The question stopped Jess in her tracks long enough for Danny to walk in front of her and block her path, "I said, what do you know about my brother?" He repeated when she gave no signs of giving him an answer.

Jess looked up at him and decided that there was no way he was going to let her pass without something, "Patrick Quinn. Went missing from this house as a teenager. No body was ever found, that doesn't mean he's dead though." She quickly side stepped him and carried on walking before he could gather his wits and follow. She didn't know why she said what she did but she felt like she couldn't just leave him hanging on to the thought that his brother was gone for ever.

~o~o~o~

They regrouped on the lawn over the bridge and just out of sight from where Danny probably still stood.

"There's something strange going on in there, Abby stay here. If anything out of the ordinary, call us." Jenny's words made Abby protest slightly but she stopped speaking when the girl, Jess spoke over both of them,

"I'll stay as well." She said with the air of someone who was used to having their orders followed. Jenny shot her a calculating look and she carried on "What? It's a potential anomaly sight, it's no good if it's just Abby here, what if she gets hurt?" Abby bristled slightly at the implication that she wasn't enough by herself but the argument was sound. And that was how Abby found herself stuck guarding a rickety old house with a woman she had no knowledge about yet had every reason to be suspicious of.

~o~o~o~

"So," Said Jess looking up at the house, "what do you want to do?" Abby just raised an eyebrow at her and looked back up at the house. Jess wasn't sure what she'd done but it was obvious that Abby didn't even want to talk to her. She opened her mouth to speak again but Abby interrupted,

"Let's just stay out here, no need for us to go in." Jess nodded her agreement, she still couldn't quite recall the records for this particular field mission but that just made her all the more wary, after all she had no clue on what was going to happen, for all she knew she could be walking straight into danger.

"So Jess," Said Abby with a definite coolness in her voice, "Who are you?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Jess confused, "I'm just a researcher-"

"No you're not." Said Abby flatly, "You've been here less than two days and already Connor and Cutter seem to trust everything you say, what are-" Abby broke of her tirade sharply and her eyes focussed on something behind Jess. Jess looked around only to see a curtain in the window off the house swaying a little.

"Abby-" She began uncertainly before Abby hushed her.

"There was something in that window." She said in much softer tones than what she had been using before, "Come on, let's go check it out." She looked at Jess only to see the younger woman casting apprehensive glances at the door, " Well, I'm going" Abby said walking up to the house, "suit yourself." And with that she disappeared inside.

Jess was warring every instinct she had all of which were telling her not to go into the house but as she heard the floorboards squeaking under Abby's weight she knew that she couldn't leave her would be friend to the mercy of whatever was inside. Jess huffed once and quickly strode into the house, al the time wishing she had an EMD in her grasp.

~o~o~o~

By the time Jess got inside Abby had already crept half way up the stairs and was following the ominous noises of what seemed to be some sort of scuffing intermittent with guttural growls and snarls. As silently as she could Jess walked up to where Abby was and they steadily progressed together. When they reached the top of the stairs they separated to look in different rooms.

To Jess it seemed like every creak of a floor board sounded much louder than it should of and she was almost certain that the pounding of her heart could be heard outside of her body. To her immense relief a simple sweep of the room didn't reveal any creatures so she slowly backed out of the room and made her way back to the top of the stairs where Abby was already standing, looking around her.

She wasn't sure what it was that tipped her off first but she immediately felt that something was wrong. It wasn't until her eyes saw beyond Abby that speech was ripped from her,

"Abby, MOVE!" In an act of desperation Jess leapt forward and tried to pull her friend away from the impression of eyes and glint of sharp teeth but the creature that had been lurking and camouflaged in the shadows burst forward, snarling as it did so. She managed to shove Abby onto the landing but the creature landed directly on her chest, growling and spitting in rage. The next few moment became hard to distinguish from each other as time started to speed forward.

All Jess knew was that something flashed before her eyes and pain exploded across her face and the next thing she knew was she was tumbling down the stairs unable to tell up from down. Jess felt her head strike the wooden banister once before consciousness ebbed from her mind.

~o~o~o~

Abby shouted out in shock as she watched the creature pounce on where she had been standing moments ago; where Jess was standing now. The creature hissed and with a lethal looking set of claws swiped at Jess's face. From the resultant scream and blood Abby could only guess the creature had found its mark. She continued to watch on in horror as Jess fell backwards down the stairs before seeing her head smack against the banister. She didn't move again.

Unconsciously, Abby ran down the stairs to the fallen woman where the creature that sat on top her had reared back for another attack. Abby ran up to it and with the hardest kick she could muster sent it flying to the other side of the room where it hit the wall and with one last hiss at her and Jess, camouflaged. Abby stiffened at that; it would mean she would need to keep an extra vigilant eye out while she tended to Jess. She hadn't forgotten her suspicion of the girl but that was very much at the back of her mind.

She looked down at the girl in question, the scratches on her face weren't shallow but they weren't deep enough to cause any major problems. Hurriedly, she took of her hoodie and pressed it to the deepest cut which ran the length of Jess's cheek and almost down to her neck, all the while keeping a lookout for whatever had attacked them. She knew the best option would be to more Jess out of the house but for one thing she couldn't move her without making both of them vulnerable to that _thing_, and for another she was no paramedic but she knew it wasn't safe to move people when they took fall like the one Jess had just taken.

So, after a second of deliberation, Abby took out her phone and dialled emergency services. It rung twice before she hung up. She knew it would be worse for Jess if they waited but they had to be sure the area was secure before they could start letting civilians onto the grounds or she could be contending with deaths rather than injuries. She tried calling both Connor and Jenny but neither picked up their phones. Abby felt slightly desperate as she tried to think of someone else to call while keeping an eye out for their attacker. She scrolled though the contacts on her phone before she stopped at one she had never dialled before. She clicked it and waited for the owner to pick it up.

"_Becker."_ Came the stoic greeting from the other side of the line. Abby hadn't really got a measure for the Captain yet but what she needed right now was safety and containment, and she had a feeling that he could provide both.

"Listen, it's Abby. We need your help…" By the time she had finished talking she was beginning to feel the panic set in which was only partly assuaged by Backer's quick reply.

"_I'll be there in three minutes."_

~o~o~o~

Abby wasn't quite sure if the Captain had kept to his word for every second that passed felt like an hour. She sat with her back against the wall holding the now blood stained jumper to Jess's face as she continually scanned every inch of the room for any signs of life. Jess had started stirring slightly which Abby hoped was a good sign but she hadn't shown any signs that she was going to wake soon.

All in all Abby didn't think she'd ever been happier to see somebody kick open a door and stride into the room as she was when she saw Becker. He had three men with him and they quickly spread out to cover the whole room with their weapons primed and ready.

Becker walked over to where Abby was and immediately felt for Jess's pulse. He was relieved when he found a strong and steady beat and even more so when he saw her eyelids flutter slightly. He stood to give orders to his men quickly and helped Abby up from the floor and ushered her out of the house. She stood by herself on the lawn for a second, unsure of what to do before Becker re-emerged from the house carrying Jess,

"Her back… she fell down the stairs-" Abby began before being cut off by Becker.

"It's okay to move her- I checked. Come on let's get you out of here."

They were almost to the cars when Jess started to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Becker before a small smile quirked her lips,

"Just like last time." She murmured before she fell back into unconsciousness. Abby looked at Becker meaning to ask what she had meant but Becker looked back at her with an equally confused expression. Abby begin to feel the exasperation settle in- was there anything about this girl that was going to make any sense?

…

A/N- Hello again! Right, before you shoot me, I'm sorry for the wait for the chapter but I really hope you're all still with me! There won't be as long a gap before the next chapter as there was for this one but I hope you still enjoyed it, please review if you did!

All the best,

VE

Ps. The 100th reviewer for this story was actually anonymous so I cant ask them for the prompt, sorry all!


	12. Chapter 12

_They were almost to the cars when Jess started to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Becker before a small smile quirked her lips, _

"_Just like last time." She murmured before she fell back into unconsciousness. Abby looked at Becker meaning to ask what she had meant but Becker looked back at her with an equally confused expression. Abby begin to feel the exasperation settle in- was there anything about this girl that was going to make any sense?_

To say that the Captain's behaviour was confusing Abby was an understatement. He had carried Jess straight to the car and placed her on the seat as though she were made of spun glass. When both he and Abby were in the car as well he had ordered the nearest soldier to take them back to the ARC as fast as humanly possible.

Abby was a little confused over the choice of the ARC and not a hospital but when she asked Becker replied with short clipped words that the medical bay at the ARC would be equipped well enough to deal with any injuries sustained and that it avoided awkward questions that were bound to follow at the hospital. Abby accepted his answer and the rest of the drive was passed in outward silence while inwardly Abby's mind was repeating dozens of questions over and over until the words came to mean little.

~o~o~o~

When Jess started to regain consciousness it wasn't in one go. She drifted to and fro reality hearing snippets of conversations and seeing snapshots of life. She could vaguely remember being laid down on a bed while firm but gentle palms felt around the back of her head for what she could only assume was a head injury but her rational mind soon faded and she was left asleep once more.

The next time, she managed to open her eyes and focus enough to see that she had been laid in the medical bay. She tried to see beyond the benign whiteness of the walls through the glass door and was rewarded of the sight of a shell shocked looking Abby staring at Cutter and Lester as though they had both gone mad. Abby chose that moment to look through the door and meet Jess's eyes for an instant. The moment was broken when Jess's eyes began to close but she still saw the disbelief on the other woman's face.

_Well, at least I don't have to be the one to tell her_, was the last thought to flit its way through Jess's mind before the comforting lull of sleep over took her once more.

~o~o~o~

The third time Jess awoke she was sure that this time she was staying so. For one thing most of the fogginess of her mind had cleared and she could feel every dull ache and shooting pain that possessed her body, and for another the strangeness of the situation brought her straight back to her senses.

On one side of her bed sat Abby who looked down on her with a quiet curiosity and on the other sat Becker. While Abby was awake and alert it appeared that Becker was not. He sat on a chair next to her bed, with his head lolled to one side slightly and his face slack with sleep, however most tellingly of all his hand was gently laid over Jess's one on her bed and Jess wasn't surprised by her reluctance to move it.

So instead she turned to Abby. The woman had an annoying smirk on her face which was the same face she pulled every time she had seen Jess stare after Becker in the future.

"How're you feeling," Abby asked in a hushed voice so as not to wake the sleeping Captain.

"Better." Answer Jess in an equally quiet voice as she turned her head to look at Abby full on and winced at the pounding in her head the movement caused, "How long have I been here?"

"About ten hours." Answered Abby, "And before you ask all the business with the creature has been sorted- it won't be coming back any time soon."

"Good." Said Jess, a smile drawing on her lips. She knew that she shouldn't be happy at the death of a creature but honestly that thing had been the scariest thing she had even seen. She could still see the hungry look in it's eye as it swarmed up the wall ready to attack Abby-

"Thanks by the way." Jess lost her train of thought as Abby spoke but she smiled at her all the same. "So… Cutter just told me something quite interesting." Said Abby as she looked at Jess pensively.

"What's that?" Said Jess, her mind moving at a snails pace.

"Well, he might have said that you come from the future…" Abby trailed off when she looked at Jess's face which hadn't changed since her last statement and her own face paled, "Really?… He was telling the truth?"

" 'fraid so." Said Jess with a small smile.

"Wow." Said Abby visibly trying to gain her composure, "So what's it like in the future?"

Jess grimaced slightly at the question as she remembered how difficult it had been to dance around the truth with a clear head never mind a tired and still slightly sluggish one. "What do you want to know?" She asked hoping it wouldn't be anything to complex.

Abby thought for a second, "Do I still work at the ARC?"

An easy one. Jess smiled as she answered, "Yes."

"Do I still have Rex?"

"Yes."

"Do I have a boyfriend?"

"Yes"

Abby grinned triumphantly at the last answer as Jess tried to look dismayed but couldn't help the smile that had spread slowly across her face.

"I didn't mean to tell you that." She said as she tried to hold back a laugh at Abby's face which was still split into a wide smile. It was true, Jess hadn't meant to reveal anything personal but the monotone of Abby's questions had tricked her into answering them automatically.

"Well come on!" Abby whispered quietly but excitedly, "What's he like? Do we live together? Who is he?"

Jess shook her head at Abby's questions, "I'm not telling you who he is or what he's like, but you do live together." Jess stopped to look at Abby who looked slightly deflated at the lack of information Jess had given her. Jess quickly changed her mind, in for a penny in for a pound after all, "And you've just got engaged."

"Really!" Abby said louder than she meant to as Jess laughed so hard she shook the bed, "Come on! You have to tell me who it is now!"

"Who who is?" Came a slightly groggy voice from over the other side of the bed. Both Abby and Jess looked up to see Becker looking at them with bleary eyes as he looked from one woman to the other.

"Oh, nothing-" said Jess before she was cut of by Abby.

"I was just asking Jess some questions about the future and apparently I just got engaged but she won't tell me who to-"

"Didn't Cutter tell you not to pry into the future?" He began sounder more like his normally disapproving self, " There is a reason why-" Becker tailed off as he looked at Jess who was still laughing slightly, "hang on did you say engaged?"

"Yes." Said Abby, "Why?"

Becker looked back at Jess in shock and she suddenly remembered the conversation they'd had a few days ago,

"_Um..ok… How long have you lived with Connor?"_

"_Used to live with him." Jess corrected before taking a sip of her breakfast drink trying to stall for time. It was an innocent enough question but she had to try and find an explanation as to why he didn't have his own place that didn't involve him being stuck millions of years in the past._

"_Did you break up with him?" Asked Becker curiously._

_Jess choked on her drink at Becker's question. How had he got that idea? Just because she said they had lived together…oh. She realised then that she probably have mentioned that Abby lived there too._

_Becker for his part watched in confusion and amusement. He hadn't expected his question to get such a response but it was quite funny watching Jess turn bright red._

"_No! We weren't going out! He and Abby didn't have anywhere to stay so I offered them a place to sleep. Anyway he just got engaged." Said Jess._

Jess watched from her bed as Becker put two and two together.

"So that was…" He tailed once more as Jess just smiled and nodded her head.

"What?" Demanded Abby, "Does he know who it is?" She turned to Becker who still looked completely shocked and about ready to burst out laughing, "Who is it?"

"Erm…excuse me?" All three people in the room looked towards the doorway where Connor stood looking more than a little awkward and confused. The sight of him standing there nearly broke Becker's tenuous self control as Jess could see the effort he was putting in to not laughing and giving the game away. "Lester sent me down," Connor continued still looking mildly uncomfortable, " he said that when you're up to it we're going to start on the locking device and whatever we need to build to get you home."

Jess smiled at him, "I'll definitely be there by the end of today." She said as already her mind stated dredging up calculations and ideas.

Connor nodded but didn't leave, instead he stood there for a second, his eyes conspicuously landing on Becker's hand which was still laid lightly over Jess's, Becker followed his line of sight and Jess knew she wasn't imagining the colour that crept into his face. Quickly, he moved his hand (Jess was pretty sure that he had forgotten it was there in the first place) and stood up.

"I've got to be in the …armoury. Got to go and do some…-"

"Security stuff." Abby's smirked in the corner of the room as Jess and Becker chorused the last two words together. Becker just went a little bit redder before hurriedly leaving the room.

Connor looked after Becker and then back at the two women with a absolutely bemused expression on his face, " What just happened?" He asked as Abby rolled her eyes.

…

A/N-Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! This was just a filler chapter, really. Just a transition before we get down to the action next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter I'll give you a hint… its going to be a really long chapter covering the entirety of one episode and it's going to be the last chapter directly based on an episode. That episode will be… 3x03! That's right, the shit is about to hit the fan!

Hope you enjoyed it,

VE


	13. Chapter 13

"_I've got to be in the …armoury. Got to go and do some…-"_

"_Security stuff." Abby's smirked in the corner of the room as Jess and Becker chorused the last two words together. Becker just went a little bit redder before hurriedly leaving the room. _

_Connor looked after Becker and then back at the two women with a absolutely bemused expression on his face, " What just happened?" He asked as Abby rolled her eyes._

Over the next few days Jess truly began to settle into her new life at the old ARC. Her days mainly consisted of either helping Connor to build the first locking device (she tried hard not to give too much away; after all it still had to be his invention) or having him help her on the device that would get her to her own time. She spent any time she had free with the rest of the team, and sometimes she could almost kid herself that everything was as it was meant to be. On the surface she looked happy. Or as happy as someone could be in her circumstances.

However, her joy had a flip side. From the moment she had arrived in this time she had known that certain problems were going to arrive, such as knowing when certain people were destined to die. She had tried to ignore it but a constant countdown carried on in her head, counting down the days until 6th April; the day that Nick Cutter would be killed.

Being the field coordinator Jess had had full access to all files made by the ARC and before the secret organisation had been fully reinstated she had made sure to read every single report. She couldn't remember all of the details of every individual mission but she could recall this one as though she were reading it from in front of her. She remembered feeling the sadness as she first read the statement on how Becker, Connor, Cutter and Abby had all been out on call to an anomaly while unbeknownst to them Helen Cutter had infiltrated the ARC.

Connor had even told her once how the team had been locked away unable to help as Cutter went to face Helen. Jess had never met Helen but from the way Connor's face twisted when he talked about her she knew that she must have been an awful person to justify such a strong reaction in such a mild mannered person. The rest of the report went on to say that the Helen had set off a bomb at the very centre of the ARC but her plan had backfired and she ended up being knocked unconscious by the explosion while the ARC burned around her.

The next part of the recount was what had made it stick in Jess's head. Nick Cutter had been told that Helen was still inside the building and had willingly run into the flames to try and rescue her, even through just minutes before she had tried to kill him. He had found her and even managed to get them both half way out of the building before the unthinkable happened. Helen had pulled a gun on her own husband and shot him dead. She had killed the man who had risked his life for hers even though she didn't deserve it.

When Jess had read at the time she had thought it was awful and upsetting but it was the sort of secondary emotions that came from reading about it and not actually living though it.

Even as she looked up from her work and looked at the professor at the other side of the room she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt him. He seemed like a calm man of learning and although Jess had seen his sharp wit she knew him to be genuinely concerned for the people on his team.

She thought out of all of them he and Becker had taken the news of her origins the best. She had expected it from Becker, having seen how he'd teased Matt once he'd found out the man's true time but she hadn't been so sure of Cutter's reaction and she could tell that that was the one that really mattered. As it turned out he had yet to treat her any differently from the rest of his team though it was obvious that they were not so quick to trust her.

Jenny still gave her suspicious glances and though Abby had warmed to her since the creature attack she still appeared curious, edging on wary. Connor's reaction still made her laugh; though he had known her to be from the future for a full week now it didn't stop him from asking endless and pointless questions, always hoping that she would have the answers. Sarah Page had eventually been told and though she had looked stunned for a minute she had eventually replied it was a shame that Jess hadn't been from the past seeing as she herself was an archaeologist, and she said she would have found that significantly more interesting.

As Jess looked around the team as they worked she found herself to be genuinely attached to all of them. Her glances lingered on all of them but in the end it was Becker she had found herself staring at.

She guessed some things never did change.

Ever since the day when she had woken up in the medical bay he had spoken barely a word to her unless she sought him out first. The times when she could actually get him to talk were wonderful. It almost felt like she was back home as she teased him and engaged in the familiar banter. But other than that he just seemed to have no desire to even look at her, in fact, at one point she was sure she had seen him turn the other way in a corridor just to avoid her. It had hurt slightly but she thought it made it easier in the bigger picture. She was going to have to leave the team soon and she didn't want to find herself too fond of anyone.

It tugged at her heart to say that she had to leave but she knew it to be true. She couldn't be here for Cutter's death. For one thing she couldn't risk changing the future in too big a way and for another she dreaded to think what would happen if Helen found out she was from the future. She had to stay away or get back to her own time.

The only problem was that as she looked at the device that she was working on that should (in theory) be able to get her home even she could tell that there was no way she would be able to get this finished in time.

"Hiya, how's it going?" Came a voice from behind Jess's shoulder. She started at the sudden noise but smiled when she saw it was Connor.

"Not too bad I think." She said before frowning, "It still needs a lot of work though, I don't know if I'm going to get it finished in time."

"In time for what?" Asked Connor, "You've got loads of time, there's no rush!"

Jess thought frantically for a second; she couldn't let on that a major event was going to happen and she wanted to be gone before it did, "Just used to working on a deadline, I guess." She said in way of an explanation with a lame smile. She was glad that she had slipped up when Connor was there; she had a feeling that the others might be a tad more suspicious and not as pacified with such a weak explanation.

When Connor wandered away again to resume working on the locking device Jess looked down at the machine in front of her in despair. There was no way it would be ready before Cutter's untimely demise and she couldn't be here for that. Nor could she leave and leave her project here, as soon Helen would turn the building she was standing in to ash and shattered glass. As far as Jess could see there was only one solution. And she utterly despised it.

….

A/N- I hope you liked I, now I know I promised the entirety of one episode in one chapter but the chapter was shaping up to be entirely too massive; so I split it up. They'll all be uploaded at the same time so I hope you don't mind! Please review and keep reading…

.


	14. Chapter 14

_When Connor wandered away again to resume working on the locking device Jess looked down at the machine in front of her in despair. There was no way it would be ready before Cutter's untimely demise and she couldn't be here for that. Nor could she leave and leave her project here as soon Helen would turn the building she was standing in to ash and shattered glass. As far as Jess could see there was only one solution. And she utterly despised it._

Jess turned in early that night, so early that some of the team were still working by the time she yawned and said she was going to bed. Everyone said good night without paying attention and went back to what they were doing. No one was suspicious. In a way Jess wished they were more sceptical of her; she wanted to be stopped.

She walked to her bedroom but instead of getting ready for bed she got to work. She had managed to snag a large bag from one of the lab assistants earlier and it was with this bag that she packed all of her clothes she had been given and any other possessions she would need. By the end of her packing her room looked as barren as when she had first been given it.

Her next stop was to the canteen. She crept through the hallways and thankfully met no one on her way there. When she reached her destination, once again she went about packing things she would need. There would be no food where she as going and she had no money in this time to get any, so anything she wanted would need to be taken with her. She only took what she would need for a week and made sure that they would last. She felt guilty about taking what wasn't hers but she couldn't change events or let Helen Cutter know that she was from the future.

She paused for a second as she remembered the EMD that no doubt sat in the armoury by now, she almost went down to get it before she reasoned that the ARC would be obliterated soon; there was no point in retrieving it now.

Her last stop was to the main working space that she had moved her work to. By this time the lights had dimmed and Jess was almost certain that no one remained at the ARC.

She had been assigned a lab but she preferred to work in the open where she could see everyone and work with Connor if she wanted to. She set her bag of provisions down on the floor and went about her more delicate packing.

She had to take the recreation of Connor's prototype with her if she even wanted to attempt to get back home and it would need to be transported carefully. As soon as she had it in a metal briefcase much like the one Connor and Becker had used in the future to transport the small anomaly, she set about gathering the tools she would need to create the machine to get her home.

She had just finished gathering the last of what she would need when a voice spoke behind her. The very last voice that she wanted to her.

"I thought this would happen eventually." Jess closed her eyes before turning around. Cutter was leaning against one of the work benches as he looked at her and he slowly walked towards her. "So I'm guessing that this," he indicated the bag full of tools and machinery and the bag on the floor full of her clothes and food, "means your leaving."

Jess looked up at him with a lump in her throat, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." He said firmly, "I'm right in thinking that you have to leave?" He looked at questioningly and she nodded miserably. "Now I just want to know one thing. Why are you leaving now? Why not earlier?"

Jess looked at him and for the first time it really hit her that this man would be dead within the week. She liked Cutter and it hurt to think that this was the last time she would ever talk to him. "Because I like it here." She said in a small voice, "And I thought I might be able to get home before…"

"Before what?" Asked Cutter gently, being careful to keep his voice even. He thought he knew what her answer would be but he didn't want to assume.

"Something's going to happen." Said Jess trying to keep her voice strong, "Something big. And I can't be here for it."

"I see." Said Cutter. Once again he felt the wry half smile work its way on to his face; gallows humour he supposed. He could work it out, he knew he died between this time and Jess's and if her behaviour was anything to go by he was willing to bet it was going to be soon, "Have you got anywhere to go?" He asked.

Jess looked up in surprise at his question but he just looked at her expectantly until she answered, "Yes," she said quietly and truthfully, "I know where I'm going." It wasn't the perfect place to lay low but it was the best she could think of.

"Is it far?" Asked Cutter once again taking Jess by surprise with his line of questioning.

"I should be able to walk there in an hour or two." She said cautiously. In truth, the destination she had in mind was closer to the site of the future ARC than this one. It would certainly be quite the walk but she was confident that she could make it in a few hours, that was if she didn't get lost.

To her confusion Cutter pulled out his wallet, "Here." He said pressing the money into her hand, while waving down her protests, "Get yourself a cab, you shouldn't be walking the streets this time of night."

Jess stared at him as she felt her eyes fill up with tears, there was something about his last sentence that made her want to curl up on the floor and never get up. The man in front of her was making sure that she would be safe while she fled to save herself from his death. Jess was pretty sure this was the lowest she had ever felt in her entire life.

"Take it." Said Cutter misinterpreting her silence as unwillingness to take the money, "If I'm right," he carried on now looking at her with calculative eyes, " I won't be needing it for much longer will I?"

Jess's eyes widened when she heard and she quickly looked down. It unnerved her slightly to hear someone take the news of their death so calmly and she wished beyond anything that he hadn't worked it out.

"I didn't think so." Cutter said quietly. Then before Jess could react he took her hand and shook it, "Well, Miss Parker, it's been a pleasure meeting you. Have a nice life." With that he walked away into the shadows of the ARC corridors without so much as a backward glance.

Jess stood by herself feeling entirely alone as her eyes silently overflowed. She allowed herself a minute of self pity before she visibly pulled herself together and steeled herself for the outside world. It was time for her to leave.

~o~o~o~

The destination she gave the cab driver made him turn back and give a questioning look but when she thrust half of the money into his hands he simply shrugged and started driving to the abandoned warehouse the other side of town.

It was the place that Ethan (or she supposed he would be called Patrick, but for some reason he would always be Ethan to her) would use as his base in the future. Jess's wasn't sure what had made her think of it but when she thought out what she would need in a hideout: seclusion, privacy, space to work and a place with no connection to her, the warehouse was the first place that came into her head.

Eventually, the cabbie dropped her off at the derelict building and drove off with a doubtful glance behind him. Jess waited until he had driven out of sight before she started to pick her way though the debris that littered the floor as she made her way up to the main building through the only way she knew how. It gave her the strangest sense of déjà vu to see the car park where she had once sat with Becker on a stake out mission before. The sense of wrongness only increased as she walked up the stairs, where every noise she made sounded loud and grating in the oppressive silence, to where she had defused a bomb the last time she had been there. Where the bomb would sit was only a mess of broken furniture for now, but Jess made sure to stay away from it anyway. She wandered over to a window when she was hit with the most acute sense of homesickness she had ever felt.

Out of the window she could see Matt's future apartment. She knew she shouldn't be surprised as the only reason Ethan had chosen this abandoned building was that he could keep an eye on Emily while she stayed with Matt but even so she felt the longing to go over there. She had only been into Matt's flat twice and both times because they lived close and he had needed a lift into work but the longing to be someplace familiar was overwhelming.

Now that she thought about it she realised how much she missed Matt and Emily. She had always liked and respected Matt but somewhere over the course of working with him he had become more than a boss, he had become a friend. As for Emily; Jess found it hard to believe that she had ever lived in the Victorian era at all. For all she pretended to be prim and proper the woman had a wicked sense of humour and had taken to the twenty first century like a duck to water. Needless to say she and Jess got on like a house on fire.

Of course she missed her life and friends back home but in a way she still had them. The people she worked with in this time weren't quite the ones she worked with before, they were different in so many ways, but equally they were the same. She had no time to miss Connor or Abby or Becker or Lester because they were already _there_, in a way it was like she couldn't miss them because she was too busy talking to them even though she knew that they weren't really her friends. At least, not yet.

It was the people like Matt and Emily that she could miss completely and she found herself wishing to be with.

Jess tore her gaze from the window and forced her memories to the back of her mind as she looked around her temporary residence. She had work to do.

~o~o~o~

The days passed slowly for Jess as she lived in an abandoned warehouse and tried to fix technology that she didn't completely understand. She had an uneasy routine that consisted mainly of working on the prototype but even that couldn't distract her from her thoughts. She was almost unbearably lonely. She hadn't been able to risk going out hardly at all and she had no reason to so she had spoken to no one since Cutter had left her to leave. Her only consolation were her memories. She kept replaying them through her head to remind herself of why she wanted to get back.

She remembered Emily's face when they first introduced her to fizzy drinks.

She almost smiled when she remembered Connor telling her about him and Abby being engaged.

The memory of Lester telling off the medical staff as he was wheeled back into the hub after the future predator attack almost made her giggle.

The smirk on Matt's face as he shot Becker halfway across the room.

Becker. She remembered Becker. All the awkward smiles and fleeting hugs. It was hard to believe what Abby said that he really hadn't noticed her over the top flirting but she had thought just for a moment that he might like her too. It was just after she had woken up from the beetle incident and his face was the first thing she saw and she could have _sworn _that something more than friendship glinted in his eyes. But no. Nothing. Nada.

Jess closed her eyes and let the memories of the future ARC wash over her but frowned almost instantly. Her memories were becoming entangled with the team at the old ARC. Where she remembered Connor from her time she could see the Connor from this as well. If she tried to remember a joke that Abby had told her it took a second to work out when she had been told.

Over the time she had come here they had accepted her, a little begrudgingly on some parts, but accepted her nonetheless. All the people she had never gotten to know in her time and he was her opportunity.

She could see Sarah Page laughing as she talked to Abby. Her face was beautiful and whole, not like the pictures on the report of her death.

She remembered Jenny, the woman still didn't trust her but even from a distance Jess could see the half glances and smiles she gave Cutter.

Cutter. She recalled seeing Cutter talking to Connor, exasperation showing on his face but the humour in his eyes betraying his mood. Seeing him working on his model of the anomalies with a concentration that she had yet to see on any one else. Trying to hold back a laugh along with the others as Cutter got more and more frustrated with Lester's pencil pusher attitude and sarcasm.

She remembered in her time Connor and Abby always grew quiet and solemn at the day that marked his death. She hadn't understood at first but a quick look in the files had told her all she needed to know. At the time she had felt sorry for both of them but now she only felt worse having seen first hand how close they were.

It was clear to see that Connor looked up to him. In the future he talked about carrying on Cutter's work but in the time Jess was in now he seemed content to just seek the approval of the older man with his inventions and ideas and the praise was freely given.

It was harder to see with Abby but Jess knew that she loved Cutter too. The Abby in her time was had not changed in the way she found it hard to trust people but what was clear was that she trusted Cutter to within an inch of her life. The idea that soon the man would be just another name on a gravestone made Jess feel cold and guilty at the same time. It felt wrong to know which turn the events would take and do nothing to help anyone.

She bit her lip as she counted the days of her solitude. She already knew the answer but her counting reconfirmed it. It was the morning of April 6th. The day that Cutter was due to be shot.

For a wild second her mind thought on what it could mean to change these events. Cutter need not die, nobody need mourn, she could change history for the better…

She was quickly brought back down to Earth when she remembered the one thing that had been drummed into her at the ARC, _Do not change the timelines!_ She couldn't change the past…could she?

She came to a decision.

She let her eyes close for a moment before she pushed herself to her feet and surveyed what she had achieved with the prototype so far. It was much closer to working, she could tell that much. Her constant attention and time had brought it closer to being able to bring her home but still, it refused to yield just yet.

She spared it one last glance as she swept out of the dirty room as she hoped that she would still be alive to come back to it by the end of the day.

….

A/N- Once again I hope you enjoyed it, if so (or if not) please review and keep reading…


	15. Chapter 15

_She spared it one last glance as she swept out of the dirty room as she hoped that she would still be alive to come back to it by the end of the day._

Using the rest of the money that Cutter had given her at the beginning of the week to get a cab, Jess sat in the back of the car and prayed that she wasn't too late. Her plan was to stop Cutter from entering the ARC to find Helen in the first place. If all went well then the ARC would still burn down but at least this way no one she cared about would die. She realised how cold hearted she sounded as she mentally condemned Helen Cutter to death, as there would be nobody there to save her, but she found that she honestly couldn't bring herself to feel more for the woman.

As she drew closer to the ARC she could see the acrid and thick black smoke rising away from the buildings in plumes. She hoped with every fibre of her being that she wasn't too late to stop Cutter from going into the building. Dread filled her body as she continued to watch the smoke spiral upwards to the sky.

The cab stopped at the curb and Jess flung the rest of her money at the driver before sprinting towards the burning building. As she got closer she could make out the figures of the team all looking up at the blaze in awe and hopelessness. She only stopped when she was in their midst as she fought to get air into her lungs. She ignored their looks as shock and incredulity as they took in her sudden appearance and instead just scanned to try and find Cutter. She couldn't see him.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Jess looked around to see who had spoken and was surprised to see it was Connor who stood there with his hands curled into fists in an uncharacteristic show of anger. "We wondered where you were but Cutter told us not worry! All this time you knew what was going to happen and you ran!" Jess backed away slightly from the anger in Connor's voice. She had never seen him this truly angry and she would be lying if she said that he didn't scare her slightly.

"He's right isn't he?" This time it was Abby who spoke. Her words held cold anger that was displayed in the clipped tone of her words and the hardness in her eyes.

Jess just stood there looking at the team who had know gathered around her all with condemning looks in their eyes. Slowly she nodded.

"Wh-where's Cutter?" Asked Jess as she struggled to keep the tremor in her voice under control.

Jenny gave a humourless laugh as she looked at the former ARC with what looked like tears in her eyes, "He's gone back inside. To save _her_!" Jenny looked away from Jess as the younger woman swore under her breath. Jess spared Jenny a glance as she remembered that although she hadn't said it yet Jenny was in love with Cutter. She doubted even Jenny knew it yet but it was clear for Jess to see. She found that she was quite the expert in unrequited love.

"Hang on," Jess looked around to see this time it was Sarah Page who spoke, " Why would you run even if you know that this was going to happen? I mean you must have known you would escape because we all did, so why would you…" Sarah tailed off as she brought up a hand to her face, "He dies doesn't he? Nick's going to die."

Not for the first time Jess found she had the attention of the entire team. In this situation Jess took a second to reconsider her options. She could stay here and try and explain herself or she could take the right course of action and try and change the course of history. She knew that she was meant to try and have as little effect on the past as she could but it went against everything she knew to not try and save this man who had done nothing wrong and who would be so sorely missed.

Calmly, Jess ran through the situation in her head. Cutter was in the collapsing building, most likely with Helen and if she didn't get to him soon he would die. She wondered how she was going to stop Helen from shooting the man even if she got to them in time. She supposed she could tell Helen she was from the future and hope that that was enough to distract the mad woman for enough time to formulate an escape or…

Jess's eyes were caught by Becker. He stood at the back of the group grimfaced. He wasn't looking at her, instead the building that until recently had been the ARC. When he did look at her his were the only eyes that didn't hold hate or anger.

Just confusion and sadness.

She wished that she had enough time to explain herself to him, she couldn't stand the thought of him being angry with her but unfortunately every second she wasted could mean the difference between life and death. All of this registered in her head but the one thing that really drew on her attention was the regulation firearms that was holstered at his belt. This was way before the EMD's had come into play and as a soldier he was permitted to be armed at all times around the ARC.

She came to her decision and without a second thought put it into action. Becker was standing at the back of the group, so to get him she roughly pushed past the other members of the team. They weren't expecting such a move and parted easily. She reached Becker and barely had time to register the shock on his face before she had ripped the sidearm away from his belt and once again she was sprinting.

She heard the shouts of pursuit behind her but desperation made her legs work faster and soon she was running into the flaming ARC with the gun clenched firmly in her hand. She took her last breath of clean air before she waded into the wreck before her.

~o~o~o~

Jess tried to move as quickly as she could though the ruined ARC but debris, fire and smoke often cropped up and forced her to slow down. She soon realised she had no idea where Cutter and Helen would actually be so she decided her best chance of finding them both was to get to the centre of the ARC and work from there.

When she eventually reached her destination the place was virtually unrecognisable. The once high windows lay shattered on the floor, crushed to glittering sand as the larger pieces reflected the orange glow of the fire around her. Her eyes stung from the smoke and her lungs burned but in a distant part of her mind she realised she was lucky that unlike the new ARC the old one had an extremely high ceiling and open floor plan. It made the smoke less dense and the air easier to breathe.

She clenched the gun tighter in her hand as she whirled around and tried to figure out which way to go. There were several hallways and corridors leading away from the main area and she knew that Cutter was down one of them; she just didn't know which.

"-now are you coming or aren't you?" Jess span at the faint end of a sentence she had heard. It was definitely Cutter who had said them though his voice was distant and faint. The words scared her as they meant that although Cutter was still alive he was with Helen; the woman that was going to kill him any minute now. She ran towards the corridor that she was sure held both of the Cutter's but soon had to stop when she saw the state the hallway was in.

Support beams had fallen from the ceiling along with plaster and feebly sparking wires. Swallowing her fear, Jess began to pick her way through the mess around her silently so as not to alert either party to her presence. She slowly worked her way forward keeping a sharp ear out for more of their conversation.

"I'm sorry Nick but I can't let you go." The words were enough to chill Jess but the next sound all but turned her blood to ice. A click. The unmistakeable sound of a handgun being cocked. Jess almost shouted out to them then but Cutter spoke and Jess continued to creep forward.

"What the hell are you talking about?- Oh for god's sake." Jess knew from the tone of his voice that he'd just seen the gun aimed directly at him. If the situation had been less serious Jess felt sure that she would have laughed at the disbelief and exasperation mingled together in the man's voice.

"You see nothing's changed Nick…" Said Helen, her voice becoming slightly more sinister as she carried on talking, "the future's still more important than either of us."

"You really know how to pick your moments, don't you?" Once again Jess couldn't understand how Cutter was being so flippant in a situation so serious but by now she had moved forward enough see them both. Helen stood with her back to Jess but she could see that the older woman had her arm out in front of her with the gun aimed. Jess felt her own grip tighten around the gun in her hand. If she looked beyond Helen she could see the smokey outline of Cutter some ten feet ahead. Jess stayed hidden in the smoke and shadows, unsure of what her next move would be.

In front of her Helen's voice saddened, "If you'd see what I'd seen, you'd understand." For a fleeting second Jess actually felt a fleeting stab of pity for the deranged woman. In her own muddled head Helen seemed to genuinely believe that she was in the right. Jess's sympathy vanished once more when she saw the gun pointed at Cutter's chest. "I'm sorry Nick. I wish there was another way." Helen raised her gun to point at the dead centre at her husband for the last time as the man took a breath to say his final words.

With a half smile and a devastatingly calm demeanour, he did, "You know Helen," he said looking her in the eye, "You're not as smart as I thought you were."

"STOP!"

Jess didn't recall moving but suddenly she standing in full view with her gun pointing straight at Helen Cutter.

The woman in question had whirled around on the spot when she heard Jess's scream but she had kept the gun trained on Cutter.

"Jess, get out of here. Go. Now." Said Cutter from the other end of the hall. His words were still calm but his tone betrayed his worry.

"No." She said, "I'm not leaving. I thought I could let this happen, but I can't." She looked a Helen, "Don't shoot him. I know you think you're saving the future, but you're not, you're ruining it!"

Helen looked at her calculatedly, "You wouldn't be able to understand, I've _seen _the future-"

"So have I!" Cried Jess desperately trying to make the other woman understand, "I've seen it and I know what you do to it!" It was technically a lie seeing as she had never crossed into the future but the future predators that had stalked her and Lester had been enough of a taster for her.

"Have you now?" Asked Helen with a malicious glint in her eye, "And how could you have seen that when I _know _no one from the ARC has walked through an anomaly to the future?"

Jess swallowed thickly before forcing the words out ignoring Cutter shaking his head in the background, "I'm from the future, I'm not from this time so I _know _what happens. Please believe me!" Jess was aware of her voice rising in pitch and her words running together as she became more desperate. She was slightly ashamed when she realised she had sunk as far as begging Helen to see sense but if it saved a man's life she was willing to do it.

"Is she telling the truth?" Demanded Helen of Nick as her head whipped around to look at him. Slowly and wearily he nodded.

"Well isn't this excellent?" She drawled, "The only thing that's changed though, is the fact that now I have to kill both of you." Quicker than she could follow Helen's gun was now pointing at her own chest and she struggled to keep her breathing under control. For a wild second she wondered why Helen didn't shoot her before the dull ache in her arm remaindered her that she too was holding a gun.

Helen eyed the gun in Jess's hand before turning the gun back to Cutter,

"Don't. You shoot him and I _will _kill you." Said Jess. She honestly didn't know if she could follow through with her threat but the combination of the gun in her hand and the wariness in Helen's eyes made her feel something akin to power. Her voice had come out even and her hand was steady thanks to Becker, who had, in the future, dragged her aside one day to show her the basics of how to use a gun. She hadn't asked at the time, she was glad just to spend the extra time with him, but now she was glad she had paid attention. "Helen, you can just walk away. No one has to die here today." She willed the woman to see the sense her words, Jess didn't want to shoot anyone, even Helen who was turning out to be the nut job that Connor had always made her out to be.

"You're wrong," Said Helen softly, and although the gun stayed trained on Cutter the woman's eyes darted between her two would be victims, "I am saving the future. And someone is going to die here."

~o~o~o~

Outside the burning ARC Becker was as close to panic as he had been in a long time. As soon as Jess had run into the aflame building he had tried to follow but had been held back by many grim faced co-workers. He wasn't sure why but her flight from the ARC seemed to have hit harder than his team mates even if he managed to hide it well from them. They had all missed her in some way or another but he found that his day seemed genuinely darker without her there to brighten it up.

It wasn't like he even spoke to her a lot, especially recently, but she always seemed to be able to make him laugh or simply listen to what he had to say. A lot of that had tailed off recently and he knew that was his fault. Seeing her laying motionless at the bottom of some stairs while Abby clutched at her terrified had shocked him into thinking. For the first time it hit him that this woman really was from the future. A future that he was in. It took waking up holding her hand for him to realise that maybe his feelings towards her weren't quite, well… _platonic_. This in turn made him realise that nothing could ever happen between them.

It took a while for him to appreciate how impossible her situation was. For all he knew, he might be with someone in the future which meant that even hinting towards his feeling abut Jess would be a very bad idea.

_It might just be a simple case of she doesn't want you, _thought Becker as he thought about the fact that in her time they might just be people who work together, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't want to make her feel awkward or out of place and he didn't want to ask her out when he constantly felt like he was getting half of the story.

Of course, this was before she had disappeared. It was all rather irrelevant now but even so he refused to drawn into the group discussion from the team about why she had returned. He wanted to believe that it was so she could help but the sinking voice in the back of his head questioned how she could do that. She was a small woman in a collapsing building with an armed psychopath on the loose who had only a handgun for protection. Her chances weren't looking so good.

He looked across at his colleagues, all of whom were worrying after Cutter. Sarah's idea seemed to have rooted and they were all fairly certain that he was going to die. Jenny was sending pleading looks at the ARC while Connor and Abby were talking quietly between themselves.

He saw Abby say something to Connor as he gave a serious nod. The next second he was running. Connor dodged past the fire fighters who had been keeping everybody out and almost made it to the smokey entrance before a sound rent the air that stopped all movement from everybody, ARC employees and fire fighters alike.

Becker tried to swallow the feeling of fear that rose up inside of him at the two sounds that could have come straight out of his days at Sandhurst, touring the front line.

Two faint but definite gunshots.

…..

A/N- Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you did (or didn't) please leave a review!

To be fair though I can see why you may not want to speak to me ever again… I mean, I'm pretty sure that's the cruellest cliff hanger I've ever written, I would say I'm sorry for it… but I'm not!

I want to apologise for the wait since the last chapter but I'm in Cornwall at the moment or as it shall now be known…The Land Without Internet. Seriously, I have no idea how people survive down here. Still I've given you three chapters which I hope makes up for it!

Thanks to the people who messaged me about the story- it really helps me write it when I know there are people out there who want to read it!

Please review and thanks again,

VE


	16. Chapter 16

_He saw Abby say something to Connor as he gave a serious nod. The next second he was running. Connor dodged past the fire fighters who had been keeping everybody out and almost made it to the smokey entrance before a sound rent the air that stopped all movement from everybody, ARC employees and fire fighters alike._

_Becker tried to swallow the feeling of fear that rose up inside of him at the two sounds that could have come straight out of his days at Sandhurst, touring the front line._

_Two faint but definite gunshots._

The next thing that registered in Becker's brain was that he was running. The second thing was that he was not alone. Both he and Connor were sprinting into the burning building, dodging debris and ducking under collapsing ceilings as though it were a perfectly natural thing to do. Somewhere in the back of Becker's mind he knew that Connor should not have been there. He had no training and spent all day everyday in a lab; not the field. Still, as he looked at the man who was actually making better progress than he was he knew that sending him back was not an option.

When they both reached what had once been the centre of the ARC Connor stopped and whirled around to look at all of the doors.

"Which way do we go?" He shouted over the roar of the fire. Becker realised at the same time as Connor that neither of them actually had any idea where Cutter and Jess actually were. He took a deep breath as he tried to catch his breath from the running but immediately regretted it when he sucked in a lungful of smoke and promptly began choking and coughing. He glanced up in the middle of his hacking to see Connor looking at all of the possible exits as though analysing which was most likely to hold their friends with his sleeve pressed over his mouth.

Becker managing to keep his choking in check long enough to spit out a reply, "We need to get moving-"

He stopped talking abruptly as a thin noise made its way over the noise of the fire. It was definitely the muted murmur of someone talking though Becker couldn't tell who it was or what they were saying. Connor looked as though he were about to speak but Becker quickly held up his hand. He stood still for only a second longer as he was finally able to tell where the sound was coming from, then he was, once again, running.

He didn't bother to check to see if Connor was beside him, all that mattered was that he kept making his way toward the voice. He kept running until his way forward was hindered by fallen pipes and sparking wires, and it was only then did he and Connor slow down. It took minutes to get through the debris but it felt like an eternity.

A relief so acute it was almost painful cut through Becker when he and Connor were finally close enough to hear the words that had drawn them to that corridor.

"-stay with me! Come on, stay awake for a little bit longer, they'll be here soon, I promise!" Though the dust that made the air thick and hard to see through obscured the speaker Becker could tell it was Jess. For a second, he couldn't even think straight: he wasn't too late and Jess wasn't dead.

It was Connor who took the lead now as they both moved as fast as they could towards their team mates.

Becker was right behind him as they ran forward and it was for that reason that he almost ran into the back Connor's back when he stopped dead right in front of him.

He leaned around the man as if to carry on running but he too paused at what he saw at their feet.

The body of Helen Cutter lay strewn in a pool of her own blood.

She was obviously dead.

She had a single bullet wound through her chest though Becker could see that it was not the perfect kill shot; it was too far to the right. This coupled together with the blood that was slick on her hands showed that she had at least tried to slow the bleeding. Helen Cutter had suffered a painful if not slow death and Becker couldn't have cared less.

He edged past the body on the floor and moved forward with a new vigour. He could hear Connor right alongside him as they made there way forward.

Eventually through the haze of the corridor two figures became evident. Becker could have sworn he felt his heart lighten when he saw Jess who appeared to be unharmed though it sank heavily when he saw she was leaning over a man who was clearly not.

As they reached them Becker could see that the situation was more dire than he could have thought. A cursory examination of Jessica proved that she was for the most part relatively well but what concerned him was the way her hands were desperately trying (and failing) to keep the blood inside the professor on the floor.

Nick Cutter looked up at them all and for a second Becker looked at his face and saw only acceptance; that was what scared him the most.

His eyes were dragged down to the wound that sat dead centre on the dying man's chest. He noticed that Connor's hands had replaced Jess's as the both fought to stanch the wound but he did nothing with his own.

In that moment he felt more helpless than he could ever remember.

"We need to get him out." Becker looked up in surprise. It was Jess who had spoken and when he looked at her she had steel in her eyes. Her hands shook and her lips trembled slightly but her voice was clear and her eyes strong. Not only that but she was right. The best they could accomplish here was slowing down Cutter's inevitable death; the only chance was to get help.

With a nod to Connor they both moved at once. To his surprise it was Connor who picked up Cutter. His skinny frame didn't seem to matter at that moment and Becker wasn't about to question where the strength had come from.

At being moved Cutters breath became ragged and he gasped in pain,

"No-" Becker winced at the sound of the professors' voice. It was raspy with a wet quality. Like the words were struggling past the blood in his throat.

Once again it was to his surprise when Jess darted forward and looked him dead in the eyes, "You're getting out of here," She paused and took a breath, "I promise."

They waited for a beat but there was no more protest from Cutter (at this point Becker would have loved one of the sarcastic comments from the man that usually made him grind his teeth) so they moved towards the exit, Connor carrying Cutter and Becker half dragging Jess. The way was laborious and slow but eventually they made it out blinkingly to the sun. It seemed ridiculously bright compared to the flickering orange hue cast by the fire inside.

The next few minutes were lost to confusion and flurries of movement but Becker felt Jess's weight leave his arm and when he looked around she was kneeling on the ground to where Connor had gently lain Cutter. Once again she was trying to help though the others were doing a better job of it than her. He pulled her away to give the rest of the team better access to their fallen colleague but Jess gave no signs of noticing. She sat staring at her hands in morbid fascination as she saw the blood that covered them. He had seen this reaction all too many times before; she was going into shock.

"Can we get an ambulance over here!" Shouted Lester at other workers from the ARC who had yet to realise the situation. His voice was loud enough to cut across the din and the strain of barely contained panic below the surface was clear.

From where Becker and Jess were they could see Jenny where she too had stood back and looked at the unfolding events with the tears in her eyes threatening to spill,

"Oh God," She whispered though her voice was still distinguishable, "there was something I was going to tell him."

~o~o~o~

In the end it was Jenny who rode in the ambulance with Cutter. Jess had barely noticed as the loaded him into the back of the van and raced to the nearest hospital. All she could think of was how she had failed.

Cutter had still been shot.

He could still die.

She had killed Helen Cutter.

The last thought made her want to retch. She had taken a life. She was a killer now. And that wasn't even the worst part, the very worst of it was that Jess could clearly see in her mind how she had changed everything. The timelines had been irrevocably altered and it was her fault, everything would change, nothing was every going to be the same…

She felt her breathing spiral out of control but she could make no move to fix it. Instead she welcomed it as the darkness closed in on her mind and dragged her under leaving her with a final sight of concerned brown hovering just over hers.

…

A/N- Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it, no matter what you thought reviews are always welcome! Sorry for the wait and thank you to the person who reminded me to update this and actually sit down and finish the chapter (You know who you are so thank you J).

Next chapter should be up sooner and I can promise a lot of team interaction,

Thanks again,

VE


	17. Chapter 17

_She felt her breathing spiral out of control but she could make no move to fix it. Instead she welcomed it as the darkness closed in on her mind and dragged her under leaving her with a final sight of concerned brown hovering just over hers._

When Jess finally came to she had no idea where she was. She could feel a hard mattress under her and the faint buzz of people talking along with an annoyingly persistent beeping in the background. She cracked open her eyes to try and get a better idea where she was but her eyes were immediately assaulted by harsh light. She threw an arm over her face and groaned.

"You're awake." Jess squinted past the light when she heard the familiar drawl beside her. When she could see it became apparent that she in a hospital, laying in a private room. Lester sat beside her reading a newspaper, his eyes fixed on the font. Outwardly he looked calm but Jess saw how white his knuckles were from how hard he was grippin the paper and noticed how much more clipped his words were than normal.

"What happened?" Jess winced at the raspy scratching of her own voice.

Lester didn't even look up from his paper when he answered her, "Captain Becker, Temple and you all emerged from the ARC with Cutter-"

"What happened to him? Is he alright?" Interrupted Jess with worry predominant in her mind. She had risked so much in going to save him and she wasn't sure what she would do if it turned out it had all been for nothing.

"He's been out of surgery for two hours," Said Lester with his tone still perfectly even but a flicker of emotion ran across his face as he carried on, "It's touch and go from now."

Jess tried to hold back the tears that had started to form in her eyes. She really didn't the professor to die. Not just because it would mean she had failed but because she had become genuinely fond of the man. She didn't want to have to witness the after effects of such a loss either, not when she'd already see how it affected people in her time.

"You on the other hand," Said Lester finally folding the paper in his hands and setting itdown, "are free to go."

Jess frowned, "Why am I here in the first place?"

Lester sighed and looked towards the door as though he desperately wanted to leave but answered anyway, "You had to be treated for shock and smoke inhalation. After you were sedated."

_That would explain the voice_ thought Jess. "Why are you here then?" Asked Jess. She wasn't expecting the steely glare she got from Lester in return. In her time it was common knowledge that Jess was the only one who could even begin to sway Lester's opinion on anything and it was no secret that she was his favourite. To see no recognition in the eyes that stared at her was unnerving. She knew that Lester cared deeply for the team though he would prefer to take that particular secret to the grave and she should have anticipated this reaction. The blame in his eyes almost made her flinch.

"Because someone had to make sure you wouldn't disappear again."

With that departing sentence he swept out of the room leaving Jess feeling suddenly very small and alone in the world.

~o~o~o~

It seemed that even though Lester had said that someone had to stop her from leaving again none of the team were outside her hospital door. It was all too easy to just leave and find the nursing desk. After that it was simple enough to query what room Cutter would be in.

The next problem was in getting there. It turned out that the hospital corridors seemed to have been inspired by a maze. She was sure that she must have walked trough the same hall at least three times although she wasn't sure if the sedative she had been given had totally worked its way out of her system yet.

Eventually, she wound up outside the door which she had been told was the correct one. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The scene that met her was not unexpected. In the centre of the room was Cutter on a hospital bed with wires winding themselves into his arms and machinery. Jess had to repress a shiver when she saw how terribly pale and still he was; if she didn't know any better she would wager that he was already dead.

Sitting on the bed next to him looking very out of place in her still pristine suit was Jenny Lewis. She was holding his hand, carefully avoiding the various tubes and IVs. There were two plastic hospital chairs next to the bed, occupied by Connor and Abby, both of whom looked up when she pushed open the door. Sarah, Lester and Becker were leaning against the wall talking with grim faces.

When everyone finally noticed that she had entered the room silence reigned. Only Becker, and surprisingly, Sarah didn't look at her with condemnation in their eyes. There was a beat when no one dared to move.

It was Connor who broke the atmosphere first. "I think you should leave." He said in the coldest voice Jess had ever heard from him. It was strange to see the usually jovial and kind man look so deadly serious.

When Jess didn't move and just looked down at her feet he opened his mouth to speak again but it was Jenny's voice from Cutter's bed that cut across him, "You could have saved him." Jess didn't have time to defend herself before the older woman carried on with her voice still sounding oddly broken, "You could have stopped all of this. But you didn't."

It was like a damn had broken. Suddenly it seemed like everyone was hurling accusations with their voices getting louder and louder.

"You could have stopped this!"

"It's your fault-"

"Why didn't you just tell us?-"

"He could die and you're just standing there-"

"_You said you weren't on Helen's side!"_

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Jess looked up in surprise as one voice effectively drowned out the rest. Becker stood almost in front of her having moved from his position by the wall with his hands curled into fists as he looked at his team in anger, "Jess is the reason he's still alive!"

There was a moment of silence before Sarah stepped forward to join Becker. "From what you two said," She said gesturing to Connor and Becker, "She was the one who killed Helen. I wouldn't say that's something she'd do if she was on her side, would you?"

Becker relaxed as Connor sat down rubbing a tired hand across his face and once everyone seemed less inclined to attack Jess, either verbally or physically, he finally relaxed and moved from in front of her though he stayed close by.

Sarah sighed and turned around to face Jess. "I think it's time you told us everything."

Jess spluttered in shock before finding her voice, "I really don't think that's a good idea… do you know how much I've already messed up? No, it's better if I don't say-"

"No." Jess looked around slightly hurt by the person who had stepped in, "You need to tell us. Right now."

Jess just stared at Becker. He didn't look angry like the others but he didn't look like he was going to back down either.

Jess looked at every face in the room, all of them looked at her in either expectancy or anger. All except one. Cutter was just as still and unresponsive as he had been when she had entered the room, despite what had happened since. It was one look at him and she had decided.

"I'll just start from the beginning, shall I?"

….

A/N- Thank you for reading and I'm sorry for such a unexciting chapter but it had to be gotten out of the way. I can promise better for the next one and I also have a massive surprise in store! If anyone can guess…yeah nothing will happen, but I'll tell you if you're right or not!

Also I know some of the characters might seem uncharacteristically mean here but you've got to remember that to them it seems like Jess just let Cutter be almost killed but all gets explained next chapter.

Thanks for reading and reviews are always,

VE


	18. Chapter 18

_Jess looked at every face in the room, all of them looked at her in either expectancy or anger. All except one. Cutter was just as still and unresponsive as he had been when she had entered the room, despite what had happened since. It was one look at him and she had decided._

"_I__'__ll just start from the beginning, shall I?__"_

She ended up sitting on the plastic chair which had previously Connor's while he perched at the foot of the hospital bed. She almost squirmed when she looked around and realised that she had everybody's undivided attention.

"What do you want to know?" Asked Jess already thinking of things to withhold from them.

It was Abby who spoke with a hard but quiet voice, "Everything."

Lester stepped in seeing the lost look on Jess's face, "Start with what was…meant to happen here."

Jess tried to swallow down her nerves though her voice still wavered when she spoke, "If I hadn't have come here Nick Cutter would have died." Her eyes were dragged to his prone body on the bed but she continued to speak, "In my time, Helen blew up the ARC and when Cutter came to help her… she shot him. He died before Connor got him out of the building."

Connor's voice too was shaky when he spoke, "I was the one to get him out?" Jess nodded while a barely noticeable frown flitted across Becker's face. It suddenly occurred to her that originally he hadn't gone into the building to help Cutter like he had in this version of event. Seeing that he had earlier that day it meant that he had run into that godforsaken building for her. She mentally filed that under things to think about later while trying to keep from staring at him.

"What happened next?" Asked Sarah her voice sounding unaffected though her eyes were suspiciously glassy.

"Let me see…" Said Jess mentally reviewing what had transpired, "The ARC got rebuilt, someone was hired to fill Cutter's space-"

"Matt?" Asked Becker looking at her intently, "You said he was the next team leader."

Jess looked at him warily as though trying to gauge his reaction to whatever she would say next, "No, I said he was _a_ team leader." Just as she had predicted his jaw tightened and he avoided her gaze. If he was already feeling guilty at this point in the story she really didn't want to see what he would be like later. "Anyway, the next person was Danny-"

"Danny Quinn?" Asked Jenny looking incredulous, "The detective constable at the anomaly sight the other day?"

"That's him." Jess confirmed. "You make a good team-"

"Hang on," Interjected Abby, "What happened to Helen? You can't tell us that she just disappeared?"

Jess sighed while wishing people would stop interrupting her, "I was getting to that part. She, well, I don't know exactly, but she kept travelling through the anomalies, mostly back to the past…but she also visited the future."

Connor's eyes widened and he seemed much more interested despite who they were talking about, "What's it like? How far did she go? It must be amazing to just go out and _see _all of that-"

"No Connor." Said Jess quietly looking at her hands folded on her lap, "It's not a nice place. At all." Although she'd never actually been she gleaned what she could from the rest of the team. Perhaps the most telling thing about it was that Matt never spoke of his original time. She had asked him once, just out of curiosity, but an anomaly alert had sounded just then and somehow he had managed to skirt around the subject ever since.

Jess continued, "Our planet in the future is completely barren. The dominant form of life are genetically enhanced predators because they're one of the few things that can actually survive on the surface," Everyone seemed to shocked to stop her talking for once and her natural tendency to babble took over, "they've actually managed to infiltrate the ARC a few times, the last time was only a few months before I came here and it was just you and me." She said with a gesture to Lester whose face had suddenly drained of colour, "It wasn't too bad… well, it was, but it could have been worse." She stopped suddenly and regarded the faces around her uneasily, "I've gone off topic, haven't I?"

Becker was the one to nod at her but it was Jenny who broke in, "What happened to Helen?"

Jess thought for a second on how best to explain everything, "She saw what the Earth had become and decided to stop it."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Asked Connor looking around for support.

"No, it wasn't." Said Jess firmly, "Her idea of stopping the future was to travel back through time and wipe out the human race before we had a chance to evolve."

Her sentence was met with a general outcry. Lester lost what little colour he had regained while Becker's face showed only shock. Abby had actually stood up and Connor spluttered before breaking into speech,

"But she would have killed herself as well!"

"She knew." Said Jess grimly, "Anyway, Connor, Abby, both of you and Danny tried to stop her-"

"How-" Abby started to ask before Jess spoke over her and carried on her sentence.

"-You followed her through one anomaly and you were going to follow her though a second one but apparently there was a raptor attack." Jess rolled her eyes upward while she tried to remember the details of the tale that Abby had told her. "Connor ended up getting injured so both of you stayed behind while Danny kept going after Helen."

"Did he get her?" Jenny had spoken quietly but her stare was firm and Jess returned it.

"No, but the raptor did." Something akin to a grim smirk quirked at the corner of the older woman's mouth.

"Helen died before she could poison many early humans but…" Jess swallowed as all of a sudden her mouth dried out and the words stuck in her throat, "You two didn't make it back for a while."

The room was silent. For a second Jess could have sworn that nobody even breathed.

"How long?" Breathed Abby looking slightly horrified.

"A year." Said Jess trying to make her voice sound slightly more positive, "But you both came back in the end and so did Danny, though when he did get back he-… but lets not worry about that now…"

"How did they get back?" Asked Becker looking confused, "The odds of an anomaly opening to the right time can't be high,… wait, were there rescue missions? Is that how they got back?" He looked at Jess expectantly and she cringed on the inside as she realised what had to be said.

"They got back using some future tech, but that's not important…there were rescue missions. Four of them, in fact."

Lester voiced what most of the room had been wondering, "Why only four?"

Jess closed her eyes before she answered, "You ended them," She tried to ignore Lester visibly bristling as she talked over any protests he was bound to voice, "after Sarah was killed in the future."

The uproar was instantaneous. Connor had frozen while Abby had once again sprang to her feet but this time she it was to move over to Sarah. The woman in question looked completely shocked. Her normally dark complexion had drained of its usual colour leaving her looking sickly under the harsh hospital lights. Jenny looked up from her position on the bed looking like she wanted to leave and never come back.

Tentatively, Abby put an arm around her friends shoulders which seemed to snap her out of her daze. She pushed a shaky hand though her hair and gave a breathless laugh that sounded painfully strained.

"There's no point worrying about it now is there?" She asked the room in general, still trying to look as though Jess's news hadn't affected her in the way it had, "There won't be any rescue missions now, right?" She looked at Jess as though expecting confirmation and reassurance but Jess couldn't meet her eyes.

The enormity of what she had just changed had only just been fully recognised.

Helen was dead.

This changed everything she knew was going to happen. The implication of what she had changed, the timelines she had differed, the lives she had altered. What would happen to Cutter and Sarah now? Would Jenny still get married and leave the ARC? What would happen to Matt and Emily? Would they be separated forever or-

"No. There won't be any rescue missions. You're safe." Jess's rather morbid reverie was broken by Becker. He was looking at Sarah with his jaw set and an all too familiar guilt creeping into his eyes.

Jess had had enough. He blamed himself for Sarah's death in the future and she would be damned if she was going to let him do it before it had actually happened, "It wasn't your fault." She said firmly. The rest of the team looked at her in confusion but Becker looked back at her unflinchingly.

"Did I go through the anomaly with her?" He asked calmly.

Jess fought back a wince at this familiar line of thought and frowned before answering as a din at the end of the corridor broke her concentration, "Yes."

Becker continued just as calmly as before though his shoulders were slumped and his eyes dark, "Then as the head of security it was my job to protect the rest of the group which includes," he paused to look at Sarah briefly before his eyes flickered away, "the untrained civilians."

"Did you see the mission reports?" Asked Jess rhetorically seeing as she knew he couldn't have done, "Well then I'm afraid you're in no position to comment."

He stared at her for a second but she unabashedly met his gaze and refused to break it. He looked away first.

"What happens next?" Asked Jenny quietly.

"After that the ARC disbanded." Said Jess looking at all of the shocked faces in the room and moving to speak hurriedly so as to avoid being interrupted again, "It was put back together a year or so after- that's where I come in." She added before pointing at Connor and Abby, "You two get back to modern day soon after and…there's not much more to tell."

The last part was a shameless lie and one she hoped she wasn't called out on. Quite frankly, she didn't want to tell them about how Connor almost ended the world or how Ethan had appeared only to make their lives hell.

And that was only the main points.

She really didn't think she could go into New Dawn or Matt being from the future and Emily being from the past. Maybe another time, but certainly not now. She was well aware that there was such a thing as too much information and especially within such a short time.

"You still haven't told me one thing." Said Abby looking at her speculatively, "You might as well tell me who I'm engaged to now."

Surprisingly quickly the mood of the team lifted, if only slightly. The room looked around in interest apart from Becker who was betrayed as amused against his will by the quirk of his mouth and Connor who suddenly looked sullen.

"You're engaged?" He asked. Jess could tell he was trying to keep his emotions in check but he was doing a rather bad job of it, "Hang on," he said turning to Jess, his eyes wide, "you said I was engaged as well, were you joking or-"

The penny seemed to drop at the same moment for both of them as they silently gaped at each other.

It was too much for Sarah, who despite the news of her death started to laugh. Pretty soon even Jenny managed a small chuckle while Lester was trying to keep a smile from his face with interesting results.

Jess wasn't sure what it was that made them all laugh so much. It could have been the relief that the future could be changed, the desperation to find something worth laughing at or the pure shock at finding themselves still alive. Whatever it was Jess didn't want to end.

But all too soon it did. There were raised voices from down the hallway and heavy approaching footsteps, the same that Jess had heard dimly earlier. The laughter stopped abruptly as the hospital room door was thrown open to reveal one of the ARC's numerous soldiers with a nurse who was in vain trying to make him leave. With a look he sent the nurse huffing away and he turned to the room's occupants.

"Sir, there's been another anomaly." He said addressing Becker directly.

Becker straightened immediately, "Right, we should have some firearms left in the cars that survived the blast, round up a team the best you can and I'll meet you at the site-"

"No sir." Becker frowned at the blatant refusal of his orders but instead of balking under his superior's stare the young soldier looked desperate. "The anomaly's already closed."

"The what's the problem?" Asked Becker walking forward looking curious. Jess saw the younger man's eyes flicker to her before he spoke.

"Before it closed… two people came through, sir. We don't know where or who they are. We had reports of them but they've just… disappeared"

Jess fought back the urge to shift uncomfortably as she felt the weight of every stare in the room. Once again she remembered that from here on out she had no control or knowledge of future events.

Becker turned to her, "Do you have any idea about who it could be?" He asked, his voice remarkably even.

Jess shook her head, her brain working a mile a minute.

Becker closed his eyes and let his weariness cross his face for a mere second before he snapped back into shape. "Right, I'm going to need people searching the CCTV and-"

"I can do that!" Said Jess immediately. It wasn't a lie; sifting through footage was practically child's play to her at this point but her real motive was hidden. She wanted to see who these people were first. She needed to know who they were and if they could help her get back… if there was any place to get back to at this point.

Becker gave her a evaluating look and eventually a sharp nod.

it was only when she followed him out of the room that she managed to identify this new feeling that had sprung up in side her.

Uncertainty.

For the first time she was just as clueless as everyone else.

….

A/N- Really sorry for the long wait, but it's here now and I hope you liked it! It's probably pretty obvious who the new people are but I won't say just in case and hopefully the next chapter will be up far sooner than this one was.

All the best,

VE


	19. Chapter 19

_It was only when she followed him out of the room that she managed to identify this new feeling that had sprung up in side her._

_Uncertainty._

_For the first time she was just as clueless as everyone else._

Jess followed Becker out of the hospital and soon she found herself being driven in a car with two other soldiers. She looked out of the window as the scenery of dull, twilight suburbia flew past and revelled that in that moment, had she not have known otherwise, she could have been back in her own time. A time that she was pretty sure didn't exist anymore.

Neither Becker or the soldiers made any move to engage her in conversation but she didn't take offence. The soldiers had been nothing but courteous to her but she could almost see them trying to restrain their wary glances. As for Becker she could see the stress lines that marred his face and how fixedly he stared out of the windscreen as he drove and resolved to leave him be for the while.

In truth, she was in no condition to hold a conversation with anyone either. The news that two people had followed her into this time had shaken her. It brought home the fact that from now on she was as blind towards future events as everyone else around her. It was a feeling to which she had grown curiously unaccustomed.

~o~o~o~

The place it turned out that they were heading to was a small corner street shop. There they greeted a hysterical shop owner and his wife as they tried to explain how they had seen two people fall out of a golden light.

The wife was the first to calm down enough to properly explain what had happened. She said they'd just been closing up shop when they saw a strange light from the street corner and had gone out to investigate further. What they had seen had left them speechless.

A man and a woman had been thrown out from the anomaly and sprawled across the floor. Jess frowned at this part, she couldn't think of a time when she had ever see anyone be thrown out of an anomaly.

The woman continued her story tearfully. Apparently, the man and the woman had run into the coming night while the light blinkered out of existence.

"Am I mad?" She had asked eyes wide. Jess had hastened to assure her she wasn't. She was all too aware that the woman was talking to her while Becker organised his two men in the background. She couldn't hear their conversation but the occasional snippets made it back to her, "possible hostile" and "necessary force" were just a few. Strangely, they didn't make her feel better.

The woman, it seemed, was not reassured either. She started to shake and without thinking Jess put her arm around her. The woman turned to her mournfully, "They said you want to see the CCTV, though I'm not sure how much good it'll do you, the picture's terrible…"

Jess rubbed the woman's arm soothingly, "Can you remember what they look like at all?" She asked more out of a need to distract the trembling woman than any actual desire for information but she listened just the same.

The woman nodded vigorously though made no attempt to escape from Jess's comfort, "Yes. The woman…let's see, she had brown hair. Long and curly like she was going out somewhere…and she was pale! I remember thinking it was strange because of the nice weather we'd been having but she looked like a sheet of paper."

Jess's heart started beating faster. She knew lots of woman with curly brown hair there was no reason for this to be the one she was thinking of. There was nothing to suggest that this was Emily…except she was one of the palest people Jess had ever met. Emily had explained to her once that in her time it was the fashion to be pale not brown like it seemed to be so often the case here.

Emily had adapted remarkably well to the new century but she had kept many of her quirks with her and disdain of tanning was but one of them. Jess had never seen the Victorian woman avoid the sun but where other woman applied foundation Jess had always watched on in amusement as Emily applied sun screen.

She pushed these thoughts from her mind, there was no reason in getting her hopes up to be dashed, it was best to be sure after all.

"And what about the man?" Jess prodded gently.

The woman swallowed before speaking, "He was the one to get up first and he came over to me…"

"Did he speak to you?" Asked Jess urgently. The sudden change in her demeanour seemed to unsettle the lady as her eyes grew wide again.

"Yes," She all but whispered, "He asked me where they were and then they ran off."

"That's it?" Jess asked feeling the disappointment wash over her in waves, "You can't remember anything else?"

The woman rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as she searched her memory for any lost titbit of information, "No, I don't thin- wait yes! The man, he had an Irish accent!"

Jess paled but couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face.

~o~o~o~

The woman's husband had calmed down enough to see his wife and it was only after they'd both been foisted off onto the neighbour's that Jess approached Becker.

"I know who they are." She said confidently, "And you won't be needing those." She said with a pointed look towards the guns that had been carried out of the car once the shopkeepers were gone.

"Oh?" Said Becker raising an eyebrow, "So, who are they?"

He wasn't expecting the calculating and slightly appraising look he got from Jess. It was like she was trying to decide something and if he were quite honest it put his nerves on edge.

"Come with me." She said cryptically.

~o~o~o~

If Becker had felt uneasy before then it was nothing compared to how he felt now. The first of his qualms was how Jess had dismissed his men. She had done it with such authority that he saw the confusion flicker across their faces before he nodded at them and told them to help assist at whatever temporary base the ARC had managed to set up. He knew that it probably wasn't the best idea to disappear off with Jess at a time like this, especially after the last stunt she had just pulled, what with vanishing for a week, but he went with her anyway.

He trusted her.

But right now that that trust was pushed to its very limits. It wasn't enough that she wouldn't tell him where they were going or who these people were but _she _was driving. She was just about the least threatening person he had ever seen but every one of his military instincts was screaming at him to take over and not be led like this. But she had insisted and he had gone along with it. It was almost embarrassing how easy it was for her to convince him.

She had been talking, probably what was no doubt a very well constructed and reasonable argument but he hadn't heard a word of it. He had been to focussed on her. For the first time since he had seen her since she ran off she looked…_happy_. No maybe that was the wrong word for it, he thought, hopeful, he decided was a better one. Her eyes had been sparkling, her mouth talking a mile a minute and her hands flying everywhere as she tried to get him to agree. How could he disagree?

Still, he was beginning to regret his decision as she turned into another side alley and pulled up the car. It was fully dark by now and night was fast approaching as emphasised by the rapidly dropping temperature. He saw Jess hug her arms to herself as she got out of the drivers side to the door and frowned. She only had a thin t-shirt on that she'd been wearing in the hospital it looked like it was doing nothing to keep her from the cold.

Without thinking about it he crossed to her side of the car, shrugged out of the heavy black jacket fatigue he'd been wearing and draped it across her shoulders. She looked up surprised but thankful at him and he awkwardly looked away.

He'd never been any good at things like this and the situation was stranger than any he'd been in before.

"So where is this place?" He asked to try and break the sudden tension.

"Just an old abandoned warehouse, I think." Said Jess staring at the looming building half hidden in the oppressive shadows.

"How'd you know about it?" He asked his voice lowering as he continued to stare at the building.

There was a pause that he wasn't expecting and when he turned to look at Jess he found her already staring at his profile, her gaze inscrutable, "This is where I stayed when I ran off," She said looking back up at the building, "My stuff should still be here and if I'm right so should they. Come on." With that she actually reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him inside.

The inside of the building turned out to be no less foreboding than the outside. It had obviously been abandoned for a great many years though there was little to show for it apart from peeling walls and hanging cobwebs.

"How did you know about this place before you ran off, then?" He asked, his voice unintentionally lowering further into a whisper.

Jess didn't answer for a moment, "We…erm,…well, I know this place because we came here once." She said and even in the poor light Becker could see her face darkening in a blush, "You were on a stakeout, I brought you Chinese and we ended up diffusing a bomb."

Becker gaped for a second, "We diffused a bomb? How on earth-"

"Because I'm brilliant." She said as she cut him off with a cheeky grin.

He would have retorted but from above them came the creaking of floor boards and what sounded to be incredibly muted voices. Becker was immediately on alert cataloguing every possible way to get both him and Jess out of the building unharmed but it seemed she had different ideas.

At the sound of the voices she had all but lit up and was now walking with more purpose than before. When they came to the end of the corridor and a long flight of stairs she began her ascent without hesitation.

Becker stayed close behind her, close enough to pull her out of harms way if need be.

He could tell the second that they were on the right floor as the voices of the two unexplained travellers drifted down the hallway to meet them.

"-there's no guarantee Emily, we don't know where we are let alone where!" The voice was definitely irate and if he wasn't mistaken Irish as well.

"Matt, look at this technology!" Becker noticed the use of the name, Matt, this must be the man who led the ARC in the future. He looked over to Jess for confirmation but only saw her wince at what he guessed was a reminder that her project had left behind, "Who else could have made such a thing? All of this and a bag of clothes for a woman her size, who else could it possibly be?"

The quieter male voice spoke again, "It could be her. That's all I'm saying because we can't get our hopes until we know a bit more, okay?"

There was silence in the conversation. Becker looked at Jess and was surprised to see that her eyes were surprisingly glassy, _wait here_ she mouthed at him and before he could grab her she walked straight into the room.

There was another beat of silence.

Then all of a sudden a scream rent the air, "JESS!" It was the woman, Emily. Becker walked forward unobtrusively to stand in the doorway where he went unnoticed. From what he could see Jess was being all but smothered by another woman.

The woman in question matched the description that Jess had eventually shared with him. She was indeed pale with a head of fly away curls although that was where his information ended.

It was strange but she had an air about her that matched the stilted tone of her voice and the way she held herself. But the main thing was he didn't think she possessed any threat and so let his eyes naturally move on to evaluate the man.

He had the look of a leader about him, though Becker wasn't sure if he was letting his own limited knowledge of the man taint what he saw. His hair was cut close but he truly looked nothing out of the ordinary. Someone you could pass on the streets a hundred times and never learn to recognise.

Soon, he too, had walked over to the two woman.

Gently, he prised them apart and when he did so he could see that Emily, who was undoubtedly the older of the two woman, had tears running down her face despite the smile that threatened to light the entire room.

He held Jess at an arms length as though studying her for a second before he too pulled her into a tight hug. From the way Jess seemed at a loss of what to do it was apparent that this was not normal behaviour.

When he had released Jess both he and Emily seemed to burst into speech at once,

"Jess, we looked, honestly we looked everywhere-"

"We had two teams go through the anomalies but we still couldn't find you-"

"Connor feels absolutely _wretched_ about the whole thing-"

"Abby's been going insane-"

"The Captain has been beside himself!"

"That's true actually, he won't talk to any of us, we were starting to get a bit worried-"

Jess cut them off and Becker could hear the suppressed laughter in her voice, "Guy's I'm _fine_! I've just missed you so much!"

The woman Emily made some sound as if to return the sentiment but Matt talked over her in what was a much more astute voice. "Jess that's not your coat." He said as his eyes took her in critically before looking up.

Jess opened her mouth as if to answer but no sound came out so Becker decided to help her out. He took a step forward and cleared his throat.

The reaction was instantaneous.

….

A/N- Hello again! I hoped you liked it and if you did (or didn't) please leave a review! This chapter was out fairly fast so here's to hoping for another regular chapter!

Well done to all of you who guessed that it was Matt and Emily and I assure that everything will eventually be explained,

All the best,

VE

Ps. I took some liberty in describing Emily but again if it wasn't explained this chapter it will be eventually J


	20. Chapter 20

"_Jess that__'__s not your coat.__"__ He said as his eyes took her in critically before looking up._

_Jess opened her mouth as if to answer but no sound came out so Becker decided to help her out. He took a step forward and cleared his throat._

_The reaction was instantaneous._

The man, Matt, looked almost comically surprised when Becker stepped out of the shadows, "Becker?" He asked incredulously. It was strange to be addressed by someone he had never met before but ever since joining the ARC he had quickly grown accustomed to the unexpected.

Emily looked up at him and smiled, "Captain." She greeted demurely. There was something off about her he noted distantly, not maliciously or dangerously so, just something slightly odd.

"You're going to need to introduce yourself." Pointed out Jess quietly. He took a second to look at her and she appeared just as glassy eyed as before though her wide smile betrayed her real emotions.

"Right right." Muttered Matt, "I'm Matt Anderson." He stepped forward and gave Becker a quick but firm handshake.

"Emily Merchant." Said the woman and after an uneasy glance at Matt she too held out her hand. Becker noticed the look and couldn't help the confusion that must have flickered across his face. It did not go unnoticed, "Women in my time did not shake hands." She said in what she must have thought was an explanation but only served to confuse Becker further.

This time he knew he must have looked shocked because Matt smiled and Jess stepped in to explain, "Emily's actually from the… well, she's from the nineteenth century."

Becker decided not to ask and file that one away for later, "Emily Merchant…and is that you're real name?" Emily looked mildly offended at such an accusation but Jess stepped in before any hash words could be thrown. Becker could see her cheeks darkening again.

"Yes, that's her real name," She said to Becker before turning to Emily, "I'm sorry…I might have told them your name when they asked who I was."

Emily just looked confused, "Why?"

Jess muttered unintelligibly but Emily just laughed and wrapped an arm around Jess's shoulder's happy and content to just be near her newly recovered friend.

Matt grinned, "I'm impressed. You managed to keep your wits about you, and if I'm right," he said as he gave the bundle of technology that Jess had left behind a significant look, "you're well on your way to building a way home." Becker felt his chest tighten at the thought of Jess leaving him behind but he dismissed it as ridiculous. He would be where she was going.

There was a lull in the conversation before Jess burst out with a question that he was sure had been on her mind for quite sometime, "What's been happening while I've been gone?"

Emily's joyous expression faded slightly, she looked at Matt and cleared her throat before she began to answer, "In our time you've been gone for nearly six months-"

"But I've only been here for three and a half!" Interjected Jess.

"Time passes differently between anomalies." Said Matt quietly before allowing Emily to continue.

"At first Connor tried everything to fix the device that brought you here. He worked tirelessly but without the notes to building New Dawn he couldn't do it and of course, they had all been destroyed after-"

"New Dawn?" Asked Becker unable to stop himself.

"You didn't tell them about that?" Asked Matt looking at Jess. Although the man couldn't be very old, in that moment he looked unspeakably weary. More so than he could remember Jess looking when she had first stumbled through the anomaly. It made him wonder just what New Dawn had been.

"No," said Jess looking down slightly, "I left out New Dawn."

"What is it?" Questioned Becker again as he looked from face to face, all of which looked as uneasy as the next.

It was Matt who broke the tense silence, "Nothing you have to worry about, now."

Becker cast a suspicious look at them all but none of them volunteered any more information.

"Come on, what happened after I left?" Asked Jess impatiently.

Matt rubbed a tired hand across his face and picked up from where Emily left of, "Like Emily said- Connor couldn't rebuild the machine and eventually Lester made him stop. He was making himself ill, working all the time and the minister started harping on again-" He cast a sorry look at Jess who could feel the lump forming in her throat.

Emily quickly picked up the mantle, "We did not know what time you had travelled through, though we always held out hope you would return with each anomaly. Abby in particular made sure she was at every anomaly site, convinced that you would return."

Jess frowned as something jarred in her mind, "What do you mean, you didn't know where I was?" She said looking at the both of them, "Surely the others could remember me, I've been here the whole time!"

Matt shook his head, "We won't know until we meet the rest of the team." He said as he drew Emily closer to his body with an arm. It was growing noticeably cooler and the Victorian woman was already starting to shiver. Jess drew her borrowed coat around her tighter.

Becker looked around the trio of time travellers and came to a decision. "We need to get back to the hospital." He said, "We're not going to discover anything new here."

Matt nodded, "Good thinking, mate. Did you come here by car?" Becker felt uncomfortable in the way Matt talked to him. He gave of the impression of knowing Becker much better than Becker knew him. Of course he did and Jess had been the same when she had first arrived, but somehow it was different when it was her.

Becker nodded but it was Emily who asked what Matt had forgotten to, "Why are we going to the hospital?"

Matt opened his mouth but closed it looking confused. He turned to Jess looking for answers. The sight that Becker saw when he too turned to look at her made him feel worse than he could ever recall feeling before.

Jess, though naturally small, had curled in on herself in the time since he had glanced away from her, making her appear more diminutive than ever before and when she looked up Becker knew he wasn't the only one to see the tears in her eyes.

"I messed up. I'm so sorry but this is my fault." She managed to say with her voice particularly thick. Emily was there immediately wrapping the smaller woman in comforting embrace whispering reassurances but Matt just stood looking on, his face half wrapped in shadows and a hard glint set in his eyes.

~o~o~o~

The four of them walked down to the car in silence. The atmosphere was thick an heavy and Becker couldn't exactly pinpoint why. Every since he had mentioned the hospital Matt had gone from amiable to stony. He hadn't uttered another word to any of them since they began their descent to the car.

When Becker asked how they had known about this place it was not Matt who had replied but Emily. She had spoken that this was the place where a man who had been after her (she wouldn't explain why) had once hidden. Becker wondered if it was the same man who had set up the bomb. She said that from the top floor you could see the place where Matt's flat would one day be which was why the man had chosen it.

At the mention of him Becker gave Matt another sidelong glance.

Matt was walked with tension in every line of his body. His face was still so blank that it was impossible to believe that this same man who had expressed joy so freely in finally having found Jess.

Jess herself walked hunched over all of the equipment that she had bundled up to carry with her. Becker offered to the some of it to ease the burden but she wordlessly shook her head and held it tighter to her body. She too walked in silence.

With the oppressive air round them it seemed to take an age to finally reach the car. When they did Becker and Jess automatically went to open the doors and climb in; and they would have to, had Matt not reached out to stop Jess.

"We need to talk before we get to the hospital." He had said in an even voice, "In private." He had added when Becker had made as if to join them. He and Jess had walked a little way off into the car parking lot where Becker could not here them but the sight of them made it clear.

Jess had her head bowed while she listened to Matt. Whatever he was saying it most definitely did not bode well.

Becker was distracted by an icy tendril of wind that snuck in through the gaping holes in the broken windows of the car park and made him shiver involuntarily. When he looked at Jess he could see the bulky outline of his coat still draped around her and was glad that she at least, was warm. Reluctantly, he climbed into the car and turned on the heating.

When he sat down there was silence for all of a moment before the passenger door open and Emily slid gracefully into the seat.

For another beat all was quiet before Becker couldn't hold it back anymore, "What's he saying to her?" He asked Emily tightly.

She didn't answer right away; instead choosing to study him in a away that was more than a little unnerving. When she did eventually speak it was with a quiet cadence that was soothing despite the situation, "He is asking about how she changed the timelines." Becker didn't even bother asking how Emily knew that when not a word about the subject had passed between the pair.

"Why couldn't it wait until later?" He asked, still unhappy with the way that Jess looked so lost and sad yet Matt continued to stand above her talking and asking unrelentingly. "Until we're all back?"

Emily looked at Becker with a serious expression, "Matt has put a lot of effort into the timelines; he only wants the best for everyone-"

"But look at her!" Becker burst out ignoring the implications of Emily's sentence. "She's been through too much! She needs to rest before-"

"Ah." It was a simple sound that Emily made; not even really a word but the second she said it Becker stopped mid rant and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" He asked suspiciously, not liking the knowing light in Emily's eyes.

"I was merely surprised that Jess has managed to…oh, what was the phrase that Abby used… Ah yes, _wrap you around her little finger _in this time as well."

Becker almost spluttered at the sudden change in conversation, "What- I am not wrapped around her little finger!"

Emily gave him a searching look softened by a sweet smile, "Yes, you are." It was a simple statement told as if it were fact.

Becker almost denied it again before something sparked in his mind, "Hang on, what do you mean 'in this time_ as well_'?"

Emily looked at him, "Well, in my time, you are completely in love with Jessica." She continued on despite the fact that Becker seemed to have gone into mild shock beside her, "I have been told, and assured by many that the only people who are not aware of it are yourself and her. It really is quite sweet and I've been informed that Connor intended to lock you both in a cupboard if you did not tell her soon."

Becker's reflex reaction was to try and deny what Emily had said, but how could he? He could not deny he was in love with Jess in the future (of which he knew none) when he was already almost there in this time. Instead of any words he settled for just gaping silently at what Emily had just told him.

It was she who broke the silence when she looked over at Becker and worry overtook her features.

"I've done it again, haven't I?" She asked looking genuinely flustered, "Abby's always telling me I'm too blunt sometimes and…"

Becker never did find out what else Abby had said because Jess and Matt chose that moment to both enter the back seats silently.

"We need to get to the hospital." Said Matt with a quiet authority. As Becker looked at him in the front mirror he could see more clearly than before how tired and old Matt looked when he sagged minutely against the seat. Becker turned his stare to Jess who also sat in the back but she didn't look up, instead focussing on her folded hands in her lap.

Wordlessly, he started the car and began the short drive to the hospital.

…..

A/N- Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it! If you did (or didn't) please leave a review to let me know what you think J

VE


	21. Chapter 21

"_We need to get to the hospital.__"__ Said Matt with a quiet authority. As Becker looked at him in the front mirror he could see more clearly than before how tired and old Matt looked when he sagged minutely against the seat. Becker turned his stare to Jess who also sat in the back but she didn__'__t look up, instead focussing on her folded hands in her lap._

_Wordlessly, he started the car and began the short drive to the hospital._

The drive back to the hospital, though short in reality, felt like an age. No one dared break the uneasy silence that had entered the car with Jess and Matt and there was much too think over for any measure of decent conversation to be kept.

Becker, for one, was sure that at least Jess and Matt were thinking on the timelines and whatever the problem was that they seemed to be worried about and he supposed that he should be worried about it too but his mind was racing at a mile a minute in the opposite direction. He barely noticed parking the car as he mulled over what he had just learnt.

In the future he was in love with Jess.

Jess was in love with him.

It was a lot to take in at one time especially as the woman in question was currently sat in the back of the car carefully holding the device that would supposedly catapult her through time to where she belonged. _Complicated seemed to sum up his situation accurately_ he thought ironically.

"Becker, you still with us?" It evidently wasn't the first time that Matt had called his name by the way he was looking at him in thinly veiled curiosity, "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Replied Becker trying to believe his own words. It was harder to do than he would have thought considering the wide eyed and significant look that Emily was shooting at him over Matt's shoulder.

"Right then let's go." Said Matt heading towards the hospital. He threw Becker one last confused look over his shoulder before squaring his shoulders to face what was sure to come.

~o~o~o~

When they eventually made it up to Cutter's room Matt put out an arm and stopped them all in their tracks.

"Maybe it's best if me and Emily wait outside until you tell them what's happened, it sounds like they've all had their fair share of shocks today."

Jess couldn't agree more. Without speaking she all but dumped her work on the floor beside where Matt and Emily stood not even being able to muster a wince when she heard what was bound to be some of the more delicate equipment within creak and scrape in protest.

She and Becker went to walk in when she noticed a calming hand on her back. She didn't need to look to know who it was as he guided her into the room, though she did anyway. Becker wasn't looking at her but she could still feel his attention centred on her. It was nice to know that he at least, wasn't angry, disappointed or shocked by what her actions could have possibly caused. Not like Matt.

She pushed those unpleasant thoughts to the back of her mind and entered the room. Surprising, not much had changed since she was last there only a few hours before. The only main difference was that Connor and Abby were both asleep, her head resting on his shoulder, Sarah was standing against the wall looking almost dead on her feet while Jenny had moved from Cutter's bed to a chair next to him where she was holding what seemed like a heated though almost completely silent argument with Lester. They stopped when they saw who had walked into the door.

"Well?" Asked Jenny as quietly as she could while still demanding. "We were just _debating_" She shot a filthy look at Lester whose face didn't change in the slightest, "whether to send a team out after you. It was reported that you left your men behind to follow a new lead."

Becker hadn't thought about it like that with all that had transpired in the last few hours but he couldn't contradict it .

He nodded.

This only seemed to make Jenny angrier, "You have a team for a reason-"

She was cut off but Lester speaking smoothly over the top of her, "What did you find Captain?"

"Two new staff from the future-"

"My friends." Interjected Jess.

"- who came through the anomaly." Finished Becker.

Lester fixed them both with a stare, "Do you have them with you?"

"They're outside." Answered Jess in an admirably even voice.

"Fetch them." Said Lester as one hand reached up to straighten his tie out of habit. Usually Jess would have raised an eyebrow at the wording of such a request but by now she really couldn't care less. The outcome would be the same in any case.

It was Becker who actually went to get them. Jess was left in the room while Lester and Jenny both arranged what Jess had come to think of their 'public appearance faces' into a poor approximation of what they had been before the ARC had burnt. The strain was evident no matter how they tried to hide it.

Sarah roused herself from her trancelike state against the wall and set herself upon gently shaking Abby and Connor awake. Jess couldn't help the bubble of laughter that she only just managed to quash at the look of embarrassment that passed between them at finding themselves in such a situation.

No sooner had her mood brightened it plummeted again as Matt strode through the door and stood quite comfortably with everyone's attention focussed on him. "I'm Matt Anderson and this is Emily Merchant," he said as he gestured to Emily who walked in through the door normally behind him followed by Becker, "and I'm sorry to dump this on you but if we don't do something soon, we're all going to be in terrible danger."

His eyes flickered to Jess and she suddenly remembered what he had told her in the car parking lot. _Yes_, she thought miserably, _terrible danger in deed._

….

A/N- Sorry for the wait! Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it! If you did (or didn't) please leave a review to let me know what you think J

VE


	22. Chapter 22

_No sooner had her mood brightened it plummeted again as Matt strode through the door and stood quite comfortably with everyone's attention focussed on him. "I'm Matt Anderson and this is Emily Merchant," he said as he gestured to Emily who walked in through the door normally behind him followed by Becker, "and I'm sorry to dump this on you but if we don't do something soon, we're all going to be in terrible danger." His eyes flickered to Jess and she suddenly remembered what he had told her in the car parking lot. Yes, she thought miserably, terrible danger in deed_.

It was Connor who broke the silence first. "What d'you mean? Helen's dead-"

Matt spoke over him evenly. It appeared that even when Connor hadn't worked for Matt yet he knew not to ignore that tone in his voice, "Jess, I think you better explain this one." He rubbed a tired hand over his face. Emily stepped forward and leaned into him slightly.

Jess watched slightly fascinated as Matt wound an arm around her and let her take a little of his weight. Before she had left she had known they were together but they rarely showed any affection to each other in public. Between Emily being a Victorian and Mat being...Matt, Jess was surprised to see such an open display of emotion. It made her throat swell slightly when she thought of all the things she'd missed in her own time. It also made her throw a furtive look at Becker. He was watching the two of them just as subtly as she was with a slightly pained expression on his face. Briefly she wondered what it would feel like to have his arms wrap around her like that... She cut off that train of though before it could begin. There was nothing quite as painful as impossible what-ifs.

"Helen's dead but she had friends. Friends who wanted to carry on her work." Said Jess trying to make her voice gentle. She didn't have the energy to shout down any arguments and quite frankly she didn't want to have to. "One of them, Phillip Burton-"

"Phillip Burton?" Asked Connor, his mouth agape. "I've heard of him! The man's a genius!"

"He said he wanted to harness the power of the anomalies," Recalled Jess grimly, "He and his company started project New Dawn hoping that they could do it."

"Did it work?" Asked Sarah quietly, staring intently at Jess.

Jess shifted uncomfortably, "Well...sort of. The idea was to create a completely man made anomaly. Then it could be caught and controlled. After that they could use the energy the anomaly gave out for as much and as long as they wanted."

"What did he do?" Asked Abby. She glanced at Connor quickly who still looked a little too excited for either of their likings.

"Phillip thought it would work." Said Jess, trying to give a fair account. She knew that Phillip had thought he was doing what was best but she was finding it increasingly hard to forgive the man for being in league with Helen when he had known what she had done, "The only thing was it was originally Helen's idea. She didn't tell him what would really happen." The entire room was rapt apart rom Matt and Emily, both of whom merely looked grave, "He got Connor to build the machine to build the anomaly." She spared a glance for him and felt her mouth twist at the almost reverent expression on Connor's face. It was that kind of hero worship that had been used to blind him in the first place. "And it worked."

"I built it?" Asked Connor incredulously his eyes alight with glee, "What did it do? Did it work?"

Jess steeled herself. She knew what came next wasn't going to pleasant for her to say or anyone else to hear, "It did create an anomaly." She said her eyes locked onto his. His smile faded at her tone of voice, "But it couldn't be controlled. It kept expanding until it took out the entire facility and you and Burton with it."

"Did he make it out?" Blurted Abby. No one in the room was surprised that she was the one to ask; Connor seemed to have gone into some kind of shock.

"He was fine." Reassured Jess quickly, "Burton wasn't so lucky but you went though to the future. It was Matt and Abby who went to get you back." Connor looked around at Matt who tipped his head back at him. He was worryingly pale, Jess noted. Evidently, Abby noticed too and slipped her hand into his. It was a testament to how out of sync he was that he barely noticed.

"The future." Muttered Connor under his breath, "Was it really as bad as you said?"

This time it was Matt who stepped forward, "Worse." He said grimly, "The planet surface is unable to sustain life apart from advanced predators. Any humans that were left were driven underground. They didnt't last too much longer."

Jess looked at him sympathetically. His voice betrayed nothing but his eyes were a different story, she had already known it but it was somehow worse to hear a personal account.

"How do you know all of this?" Asked Lester who had been quiet up until then.

Matt turned his stare on him, "It's where I'm from." He said shortly. Becker looked between Matt and Emily,

"So, she's from the past and you're from the...future?" Matt smirked at the pained look on Becker's face. Jess had to duck her head so he wouldn't see her smile. Jess realised with another smile that Becker was still relatively new to this job. He'd only been there nearing four months; shocks like this were still fairly strange to him.

"That sums up the situation." Said Emily, "I would have thought you would have been interested to hear about such relationships between people of different times?" Becker looked away with an uncomfortable cough, a suspicious red creeping up his neck. Jess stared wide eyed at Emliy before shooting her the dirtiest look she could muster. Emily only smiled sweetly back. The rest of the room ignored the exchange and Matt talked over the awkward silence, much to Jess's everlasting gratitude.

"Once we'd got Connor back the anomaly was already verging in being out of control. We had to make a smaller anomaly with a prototype that Connor had made for New Dawn and use them to cancel out each other."

"And it worked?" Asked Jenny in a hushed voice.

"It worked." Confirmed Jess. Connor spoke up from where he was standing, still looking a little fazed by what he had just heard,

"You used a prototype?" He looked at Jess, "Was it the same one that brought you here?" He asked. Jess simply nodded. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that Connor had made the leap but somehow it was easier to forget he was a genius in this time as well. "That's why you asked me to help you rebuild it." He gave a humourless laugh that didn't suit him at all, "It was my invention in the first place."

"You were my best hope at getting it working again." She said quietly. Connor let go of Abby's hand and pulled away from her. He turned on the spot, looking at the ceiling with his hands pulling at his hair. He looked unhinged, Jess thought sadly. "Didn't anyone try and stop me?" He asked desperately, "I nearly ruined the world and you just let me?"

"Why d'you think I was sent back from my time, mate?" Asked Matt looking intently at the young scientist. "We all tried and you were the one who built the anomaly that stopped it, I think you're about even, don't you?" Connor's hands fluttered uselessly before he looked around at the rest of the team. None of the said anything but Jenny wordlessly patted the bed where Cutter still lay. He slumped down beside her and she put an arm around him before nodding for them to continue.

"Hang on, I don't understand," said Sarah looking at each of them, "if this has all been dealt with...then why are we in danger?" Matt looked at Jess and she knew she was going to have to be the one to tell them what Matt had told her in the car park.

She cleared her throat, "It's my fault." She said. Everyone turned to look at her, their expressions ranging from shock to disbelief. She persevered, "When I came back I changed the timelines. At first they were only small changes, stuff that wasn't that important. But then I saved Cutter." She swallowed down her apprehension, "It changed the future. In my time the anomalies were becoming more active and it was only made worse by New Dawn. We called it the convergence. It was completely natural and it only went wrong because we started messing with it. In the end nature took its course and it all ended up okay. By changing the events...the convergence has been brought forward. It's happening now."

"What?" Jess turned to the source of the voice and say Becker staring at her. He didn't look scared or shocked like most of the others, and in hindsight she thought that might of made it worse. As it were it just made her eyes tear and her voice to come even faster,

"I didn't know it was going to happen!" She cried trying to make them believe her, "I didn't know about any of it! I'm sorry, it's all my fault, the convergence is happening and-"

"Jess, calm down." Said Matt. He walked infront of her, blocking her view of the rest of the team and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I need you to think. How far away is that from being done?" He said nodding at the bag of technology she had brought from the derelict old house. She looked at him confusedly,

"Wh-"

"Think!" He ordered. "If that's a copy of the prototype we used the first time we can use it to shut down the main anomaly that's going to appear. We don't know how much time we have but we know its going to happen! How much time is it going to take you to fix the machine, Jess?"

"A few days." She whispered, "Maybe more." Matt al out growled in frustration,

"We don't have a few days. We have a few hours at the most before it begins." Emily laid a hand on his arm in warning and he took a step back, "Look," he said with a sigh, "Do what you can and we'll just have to try and keep it under control for as long as we can."

"No."

Both Matt and Jess looked around in surprise. It was Connor who had spoken. He was standing looking at both of them with more conviction than Jess had seen from him in this time, "I'll help her." He said looking at both of them unflinchingly. " I built this once and I can figure it out again. Besides, it's my fault it went wrong the first time, maybe I can fix it again."

Matt looked at him before turning back to Jess. He looked at her in a resigned fashion that Jess hadn't seen from him since the first convergence, "Like I said. Do what you can."

~o~o~o~

Obviously, now there was no ARC left to go to, Jess had at first wondered where they were going to go. The problem was easily solved. One phone call to the minister later and Lester had managed to secure them one of the disused lab rooms right there at the hospital.

It wasn't ideal and there were many problems with the lack of specialised equipment they had. The only good thing was that when Jess had packed her bag to leave she had packed everything she thought she would need. The rest they just improvised.

She and Connor worked in silence. They talked only about what was at hand and what they were going to need to do. Almost against her will Jess began to feel hope flicker in her chest. They had been working on the prototype of coming up four hours and, though she was running on empty, she could finally see the machine start to resemble the finished product.

She didn't delude herself; she knew it was mostly thanks to Connor. He worked like a man with a mission; and ink a way Jess supposed he was. His hands were slightly bloody thanks to all the times he'd nicked his skin in his haste to get everything done but as Jess looked down at her own she supposed they were the same. Callouses marked her hands from working on the blasted machine all week non stop and the intricate machinery needed to be so exact that her hands normally started shaking just from the pressure.

Her concentration was broken by the creak of the lab door opening. She looked around to see Emily poking her head in, "I hope I am not interrupting." She said pushing the door back further with her elbow. In her hands were two styrofoam cups of what Jess could only assume was coffee from the smell.

"No, come in." Said Jess, trying to smile at her friend. Connor didn't even look at from what he was working on.

"Matt sent me down to give you this." Emily said holding out the coffee. Jess accepted both of them gratefully and put Connor's down next to him. She gave him a gentle nudge. He looked up and gave a brief strained smile to Emily before returning back to his work.

"How's everything up there?" Asked Jess as she returned to her own work of trying to rewire one of the many minute circuit boards. Emily followed her around to where she was working and leaned against the desk,

"I believe the nurses say that the next twenty four hours will decide the fate of Nick Cutter." Connor looked up at the change in conversation,

"Is he doing okay?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"He is much the same." Said Emily, "There was also another reason Matt wanted me to see you. He wishes for me to tell you that from the rate of anomalies that are appearing the convergence is almost upon us. You remember what happened just before last time?"

Jess's hands stilled as she thought back. The one thing she always hated in her line of job was having to sit back when she was of no further use and pray that the rest of them would make it out in one piece. Before the convergence hundreds of anomalies had sprung up similatinously leaving the ARC teams stretched to breaking point. A lot of soldiers had died that day. Jess remembered hearing all of them.

"I remember." She said softly.

"It is happening again." Emily said looking down at Jess hunched over her work, "Matt says that he does not know when the final anomaly will appear, but it will be soon."

Connor looked up suddenly, "How does he know there's going to be a final anomaly? Surely if there's no New Dawn machine to make an anomaly it can't grow out of control in the first place?"

Emily gave him a sad look, "Abby asked the same question. He said that the convergence would simply defect to the last man made anomaly."

"The one I came through." Jess said bitterly.

Emily nodded, "When will this be ready?" She asked, looking curiously at the machine.

"Soon." Promised Jess with conviction, "We'll have it done soon."

~o~o~o~

A further three hours later and Jess had no idea what time it was. All she knew was that it was late, or possibly even early, but they had finally finally finished it. Her and Connor stood side by side and looked with weary eyes at what they had created. It was by no means neat but they were hoping it was functional.

Emily had been down three more times with coffee and the last time she had told them the news which they had been anticipating and dreading with equal measure. The convergence had started. An anomaly had opened where Jess had first stumbled into the past. She told them that Matt was there now with a few of the soldiers they had left to spare and that, for the moment, it was locked. She warned them that it wouldn't be for long. They had four locking devices trained on it and it was only getting stronger. That was half an hour ago. Jess only hoped that they had managed to keep it contained until then.

"What do we do with it?" Asked Connor as they continued to stare at the machine. His hands were still covered in tiny cuts and abrasions but now he had a nasty but small burn on his face from where the machine had sparked and he had been too close. Jess had asked him if he was alright but they had both continued working; there had been no time to stop.

She wasn't feeling too good either. Normally, she didn't drink coffee for the sole reason that it messed with her sleeping pattern, but for today it had been a necessity. Her hands now shook with a prominence for all to see and her skin was worryingly pale. She had managed to avid any electrical burns but her hands, like Connor's, hadn't been so lucky. "We need to get it to the anomaly site." She said trying to think though her mind was hazy. "Last time we had a case to take just the anomaly, but we don't have anything like that we're just going to have to bring the whole machine."

Connor gave a short nod and together they carefully lifted it. Once they had it Jess carefully maneuvered her arms so that it was just Connor carrying it. It wasn't that it was particularly heavy but with the amount of work they had both out into it and their awareness if just how delicate it was likely to be, neither felt like taking any chances. Jess hurried ahead and opened the doors as they walked up to Cutter's room to get the others.

"What do we do with it once we get to the anomaly?" Asked Connor as they waked as fast as they dared down a sterile corridor.

"We have to get it to work first." Said Jess, looking straight ahead, "If-"

"When." Said Connor firmly.

Jess cracked a small smile, "When we do that we have to introduce the two of them. Hopefully, they'll cancel each other out."

Connor picked up on the word she used, "Hopefully? What else could happen?" He asked uneasily.

Jess looked at him, "Matt said last time that it would either do nothing or just speed up the convergence."

Connor looked away from Jess and straight down the corridor and swallowed nervously, "Right." He said trying to sound more upbeat than Jess knew either if them were, "Well, here's hoping!"

At long last they reached the corridor of Cutter's room but they never made it inside. Becker was waiting outside the door and started walking towards them when they came into sight.

"We need to go." He said tersely. He looked just as tired as Jess felt. She wished they didn't have to do this but her sleep deprived mind offered her no alternative. "Matt just called. The anomaly's too strong to lock anymore. It's expanding."

Jess felt the fear course through her. She just hoped with every fibre of her being that the prototype would work. It was quite literally their last chance.

The three of them made their way a quickly as they could down the car park. Jess was pleased to see that one of the ARC cars had survived the blast and was there waiting for them. Inside was Abby in the driver's seat. The three of them climbed in and Abby drove without asking a single question.

"What about the others?" Asked Jess eventually.

"Matt's already there," answered Becker, "Lester and Jenny aren't coming. They'd both be liabilities and they know it so they're going to stay with Cutter."

"What about Emily?" Questioned Jess. A ghost of a smile flickered across Becker's face so quickly she though she might have imagined it.

"She insisted on coming and ignored me when I told her she couldn't. I waited until she fell asleep and just stood outside the room. I get the feeling if she'd seen me leaving she would of followed."

Jess remembered Emily being ordered out of the ARC during the Beatle debarcle and simply hiding in a closet until they found her, "Yeah," agreed Jess, "She probably would have."

Silence fell over the car as they navigated the twists and turns of the city. Jess remembered only too well where she had come through to this time and she knew that it was in a public place. They got within a half a mile of it when they saw Matt and the soldiers on a street corner. When he saw them he waved them over frantically.

"Please tell you've got it." He said eyes flickering to each of them in turn. Connor nodded, a premature but hopeful smile appearing on his face. Matt's shoulders sagged with relief as he looked across Jess and at the haphazard machine, "I didn't think you'd be able to finish it in time." He admitted.

Jess climbed out of the car, "Is this going to work?" She asked looking doubtfully at the machine, "Last time we had a case for the anomaly, how do we know if the anomaly won't just stay in the same place where we open it?"

Connor broke in to their conversation, "We should be fine. As long as we keep it in the machine they should travel together."

"Right." Said Matt decisively, "You two," he guestured at Connor and Jess, "get that thing started up. And you," he looked at Abby and Becker, "need to get out of the car." Abby got out of the car without complaint and although Becker followed her example he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Matt,

"What's going on with the anomaly at the moment?" He asked.

Matt shook his head, "It's not as bad as the one was last time but it will be if we don't stop it soon. We had to retreat from where we were and if this carries on for much longer then we're going to have to again."

"No we won't!" They both looked around to see Jess beaming at them and a euphoric smile spread across Connor's face. Behind them in the car seat was a fully formed and impossibly beautiful anomaly.

"Brilliant." Said Matt. He still looked weary but Jess could see the genuine smile in his eyes. "Abby, give me the keys." Abby, who still had the keys in her hand, held them out to Matt her eyes still transfixed on the first man made anomaly she had ever seen. Matt reached out to take them but Becker got there first. He snatched the keys out of hand and curled his fingers around them.

"What's going to happen?" He demanded, "What's going to happen to you if you drive that car into the anomaly?"

Matt looked at him surprise, "The same thing that happened last time." He said without any preamble, "I'll come back." All of a sudden Jess could see the uncertainty in his eyes. She recalled what she had said earlier; there were three ways this could go. Only one involved Matt coming back alive. "Nice to know you care, mate." He said with a poor attempt at humour.

He held his hand out for the keys but Becker didn't move. "You're lying." He said with certainty, "You don't know." Matt didn't reply and that was all the answer Becker needed. "I'm going." He moved as if to walk around yo the other side of the car and climb in the drivers seat but Matt stepped in front of him.

"This what I got sent back to do." Said Matt, "Becker, let me do this. It's what I'm here for." Becker just looked at him,

"You've done it once. I'm the head of security; it's my job to keep the team safe. I can't imagine I let you go the first time without a fight."

Jess remembered hearing the story for the first time. Matt had stolen the car keys just as he was attempting to do now. She couldn't imagine that was going to work all that well this time. She closed her eyes and felt a weight press down on her chest as she realised what she had to do. Matt moved as if to take the keys again but Becker raised an eyebrow and held them out of his reach,

"We don't have time for this." He growled, his accent becoming thicker the more desperate he got. Becker looked as if he were about to push past the other man when Jess stepped between them.

She turned to face Matt, "Let me talk to him." She said softly. Matt looked as though he were about to protest but at her beseeching look back off a few steps. Abby and Connor followed suit and soon it was just Jess and Becker standing by the car as the others faded into the background.

Becker looked down at her, his expression unflinching, "I'm not giving to you the-" He never finished his sentence.

Quelling her fears, Jess grabbed onto the lapels of his uniform jacket and pulled his lips down to meet hers. He froze in shock, but after a moment he kissed her back. Jess squeezed her eyes shut to stop herself from crying. If only she'd have been braver they could have been together for longer. They could have been together before she went through the anomaly. She pressed herself against him, only too aware that however much she wanted to she couldn't live in this moment forever.

Almost hesitantly she felt him bring his hands up to cup her face. It was the opputunity she had been waiting for. She broke the kiss and brought her own hand up to cover his. His eyes were completely open for a second and when she looked at him she could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, trying to blink back her tears. He didn't even have time to ask what for before she had acted. With a swiftness that even took her by surprise she had wrenched the keys from his slack hands and sprinted around to the drivers side of the car. She was in and had locked the door before any of them had time to react. She spared a glance for the back seat and was relieved to see the anomaly still turning and shifting, casting iridescent light in the back of the car. She put the keys into the car and turned them. In the back of her mind she was grateful it was Abby who had driven them to the site; she doubted that she would have been able to reach the pedals if it was anyone else.

She didn't waste a moment. She knew where the anomaly would be from here and that she had no time to lose. Jess looked in the rear view mirror. She saw her own tear stained face and both Becker and Matt standing in the road behind her. She couldn't hear him but she could tell Becker was shouting for her to get back. Matt was standing there staring after her with absolute shock on his face. Connor and Abby were looking at her from the pavement both frozen place.

She turned a corner and they were all gone.

She didn't allow herself to think about what she was doing as she drove closer. She didn't want to lose her nerve. She drove only a minute more before she saw the reason Matt had needed to retreat.

It wasn't as big as the one that New Dawn had created but it was still the biggest anomaly that Jess had ever witnessed with her own eyes. It churned more violently that any she had ever seen and it didn't surprise her what with the destruction it was causing. Stone slabs of the pavement were being ripped from the ground and hurled through the anomaly. Even nearby buildings were looking unstable as the anomaly moved closer and closer to engulfing them.

She only paused for a second.

With one last look at the anomaly behind her she pushed the accelerator down. The car shot forward. Straight into the centre of the anomaly. Her last thought in the world she was leaving was that at least she was dealing with the problem she had created. _Better me than them_, she thought as her mind ebbed away.

... 

A/N- First off, I'm sorry! For three things mainly: leaving you on a cliff hanger on the last chapter, not updating for ages, and then finally, possibly the most cruel cliffhanger I've ever written. But hey! Long chapter! I genuinely am sorry about that and I'll try to make the next chapter a bit quicker than this one was.

Anyway, I hope you like it and reviews are always welcome, no matter what your opinion may be.

Thanks for reading,

VE


	23. Chapter 23

_With one last look at the anomaly behind her she pushed the accelerator down. The car shot forward. Straight into the centre of the anomaly. Her last thought in the world she was leaving was that at least she was dealing with the problem she had created. Better me than them, she thought as her mind ebbed away. _

The first thing that she was aware was sound. Muted. Quiet.

The second was the cold. She could feel the cold concrete beneath her. She tried to think of this as a good thing; she was just glad she was still able to feel anything.

Cautiously, she braced her arms against the ground and slowly pushed herself up. Nothing appeared to be broken although she felt stiff down to her very bones.

She looked around her hoping for any clues as to her situation. She was exactly where she had driven through the anomaly. The buildings rose up around her but when she squinted she couldn't see the damage that had been done by the convergence.

She looked around her. She could definitely remember seeing whole strips of pavement being ripped up and flung through the anomaly but when she looked there was no sign that anything had happened.

She shivered as another cold breeze worked through her thin clothes. The sun had already gone down and the sky rolled over head with half illuminated clouds dominintaing the sight.

She frowned again; she knew that it had been still in the fairly early hours of the morning when she went through the anomaly but it looked more like evening now.

Hesitantly, and looking for any sign of something familiar she began to walk slowly down the street. It didn't take her very long to realise she had no idea of what to do or where to go. She knew there was a possibility she would survive, just as Matt had done the first time, but beyond that she had no idea. Her feet further slowed when she was hit by the throught that she didn't even know what time she in.

Theoretically, she supposed she could have travelled back to her own time by resetting the convergence. The mixed swell of emotions that arose at such a thought wasn't even worth deciphering. But if she had got back to her own time would it be like she never left or would it show the changes she had made? What did that mean she should do now? She didn't even know where the ARC was; was it where they had rebuilt the original or where she knew it would stand in the future? She forced herself to think straight. Both sites of the ARC were too far to walk by foot, so in that sense it didn't matter where it was; or at least not for the moment.

The hospital was her best bet. If she had travelled back to her time she would be able to find out and if not then the others would probably be there; what's more it wasn't too far away.

She began walking slowly but with her mind racing ahead. She didn't really know what she was hoping to find but either way she was desperate to know; the uncertainty weighed on her shoulders like a dead weight.

For twenty minutes she continued walking, hardly paying the slightest attention to her surroundings. It was only when she walked through the car park and saw the lights from the constantly bustling hospital that she faltered.

No one questioned her as she walked in through the front doors though she did garner one or two strange looks from passersby who must have seen the slightly out of sync expression on her face. She thought she would have gathered more attention anywhere else than a hospital; such a look had to have been quite common around here.

Mechanically and without allowing herself to think of things she might or might not find she began to climb the stairs to where she knew Cutter's room had been last.

She supposed she could have taken the lift, but if she was honest with herself she would admit the prospect of delaying whatever she might find was a unhelpful if comforting action. Soon, she had left the stairs behind her and instead walked down the final corridor to the place that would give her the answers she would need. She stood outside of the door for only a second longer than she would have done normal.

Steeling herself, she pushed the door open. Behind it was the one thing she hadn't considered.

Cutter was in his hospital bed, sitting up and staring back at her.

She felt her eyes go wide and she leant against the door frame. A hand wrapped around her arm, keeping her steady. She looked to see who it was and saw Jenny standing next to her looking for all the world like she had seen a ghost. A quick look around the room showed that not only was Jenny there but Abby was also in one of the hospital chairs gaping as though she simply couldn't process what she was seeing.

Jess tried to muster up a smile, "Hi." She said weakly feeling self conscious under all their scrutiny.

"Jess?" Asked Abby incredulously, looking back between Jess and Jenny as though Jenny would be able to confirm it was really her.

"Yep." Replied Jess with a feeble laugh, "Guess you can't get rid of me."

"Where've you been?" Asked Jenny in shock.

Jess frowned, "I went to stop the convergence." Said Jess slowly, trying to work out why this was turning out to be such a surprise, "You were there when Matt explained-"

"That was three weeks ago!" Abby bursted out, "We thought you were dead!"

Jess's blood ran cold, "Three weeks? But-...oh." She tailed off. She looked at Cutter who had yet to say anything but was looking between them all, "How are you?" She asked wincing internally at how inadequate the words sounded.

Cutter smiled, "Much better." He said and though his voice was raspier than usual Jess couldn't help but smile properly at it, "And I have you to thank for that."

Her smile soon faded though when her mind caught up with her, "You really thought I was dead?" She asked faintly.

Abby walked over to her and laid a gentle hand on her arm, "What were we supposed to think? Matt said he came back straight away. Eventually, we just...well, it doesn't matter now."

Unsurprisingly, the loudest thought in her head was Becker. She knew he didn't handle guilt well and this would be a prime opportunity for him to try and drown himself in it. She squeezed her eyes shut tight for a second as she thought about what he must have gone through. "I need to get back to the ARC." Said Jess looking around before pausing uncertainly, "Just whereabouts is it now?"

"It's being rebuilt where it was, some parts are even functional." Said Jenny, "Matt tried to convince us to use another complex on the other side of town but we decided to just rebuild what we had, seeing as some of it was still structurally sound."

Jess guessed from that the Matt had tried to convince them to rebuild where the ARC had stood in their time but to no avail. She would have smiled if her mind hadn't become so focused on one task. Find Becker.

"I was about to head back anyway," Said Abby, " I could give you a lift, if you want?" Jess knew from her friend's face she wasn't telling the whole truth but she was too grateful for the offer to pass it up.

"Thanks." She breathed, a genuine smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "That would be great."

Jess stood at the door as Abby grabbed her coat and bag. They were just about to leave when Jess remembered something.

Quickly, she darted back into the room. She leant over and gave Cutter a kiss on the cheek, "I never did thank you." She said quietly, not seeing Jenny's curious look, "So thanks, and I'm glad you're okay." With a last smile she ran back to Abby and together they parted for the ARC.

~o~o~o~

The ride to the ARC was silent though Jess didn't miss the looks Abby still sent Jess occasionally, as though not being able to believe that she was really there. The moment they pulled up Jess was out the car. "Is the armoury intact?" She called to Abby from the other side of the car.

Abby smirked as Jess didn't even try to hide who she was going to see first, "Yep, and if you're wondering it's where he spends _all_ his time so you won't have a problem finding him," she replied, "but I think we should go see Lester first and tell him you're still alive-"

Jess was already backing away with a smile on her face, "You do that! I've got somewhere to be!" With that she took off running down the familiar corridors.

It seemed like it took her no time at all to reach the closed door of the armoury. She hadn't been stopped as she had sprinted towards her destination though she had seen many workmen and one very confused Connor.

He had shouted after her but she had run straight past him. He was smart, she thought, he'd figure it out. And there she was; she felt like she should collect her thoughts but she knew that the longer she waited the more she'd try to convince herself to leave. It was because of that, with no preamble, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

He was the first thing she saw. He sat on a bench with his back to her. He cleaning and reassembling one of the more serious assault rifles they took with them when they knew it was going to be a particularly tricky anomaly to deal with. From that and the bedraggled state he was in, it was easy to see he'd only just got back from the site.

Tentatively, she looked it around the room. It was blessedly empty.

"Are you going to come in, or just stand in the door way?" He said without turning around. His voice sounded awfully flat, almost like he didnt care what she would answer anyway. She shouldn't be suprised he had heard the door open and knew she was there, but he obviously didn't know that it was _her_. She bit her lip as her mind raced to think of what should say. How on earth was she meant to tell him and not give him a heart attack?

"Becker?" She said quietly. She wanted her voice to be strong when she spoke to him the first time but it cracked and came out uncertain. It didn't seem to matter to him. His head whipped around at her voice and he stood immediately.

"Jess? How- wh- Is it really you?" His voice had gone from harsh to soft in less than a second, and Jess couldn't help the bubble of relieved laughter that escaped her. She smiled and nodded quickly, not trusting her voice to speak.

In three strides he had crossed the room and stood directly in front of her. He hesitated for a second but Jess had already acted.

She stood on her toes and flung her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. She didn't have to wait long before his arms tightened around her in response, almost lifting her off the ground.

"I thought you were dead." His said, voice muffled as he held her close.

"Suprise!" Said Jess, pulling back with a grin. The second she diminished her hold on him he rocked back on his feet, arms returning to his side as he cleared his throat awkwardly. Jess's grin faded.

"You shouldn't have done it." He said, still refusing to meet her eyes.

"What else was I going to do? The convergence had to be stopped." Said Jess, confused at the sudden change in atmosphere.

This time Becker did look at her in the eyes, and sharply too, "You should have let me go; it's my job, it's what I'm here for."

"But it was my fault in the first place." Countered Jess, her eyes narrowed as she began to see where this train of thought was heading.

"That doesn't matter!" Said Becker, his voice getting louder and louder, "I had the keys in my hand! I should have been the one to go-"

"Exactly. You _had_ the keys. Until I took them off you."

Becker gave a wry smile that was painful to look at and began pacing the small space they were in, "Oh, yeah. That was a nice move by the way, I wasn't expecting it."

Jess gaped, "That was not- you thought that was a move?" Becker raised a cool eyebrow,

"Wasn't it?" For a second Jess's natural reaction nearly took over, to let the anger and fear of rejection wash over her and use the get out free that Becker was so obviously offing her. She even opened her mouth to tell him that yes, yes it was a move to get the keys away from him, that she had no other choice and though she did not want to do it, it was the only option she had seen at the time. She opened her mouth but she could not say the words.

"No." She said, her voice coming out deflated though she couldn't bring herself to care, "It wasn't a move."

Becker looked at her but this time it wasn't with the same guarded look. This time she could almost see the thoughts running through his head. She didn't have time to look at him for long. One second she was looking at his face and the next he had stepped forward, leaned down and kissed her.

It was different than she remembed it; where their first kiss had been hard and desperate this one was soft and gentle. She couldn't hold back her smile as she leaned into him even more, basking in the fact that he was real and solid and holding her in his arms.

When they both leaned back, their breathing heavier than before, she could see he too was smiling. He leant forward and gently rested his head against hers, "Definitly not a move then?" He asked, smiling.

Jess felt her eyes narrow before she realised what was happening; he was teasing her. "Oh, shut up." She mumbled before kissing him again. This time neither of them could help smiling.

~o~o~o~

Three days later and it was only then that everyone on the team would be in be place. They had all gathered in the newly remade conference room all waiting for the last person to arrive. The ARC was definitly on its way to recovery, thought Jess, as she looked around, the building was nearly complete and from them on everything would be done. She knew it would be finished soon; after all, she had read the files.

She felt a squeeze on her hand and looked around to see Becker drop into the seat next to hers. "Is he on his way?" Asked Becker quietly. Everyone else ignored them, either staring off into space or in their own private conversations.

"Jenny said they should be here any minute now." She said back equally quietly.

They could have spoken as loudly as they wanted but there was something in the atmosphere of the room that made them lower their voices. There was a tension that hung in the air, one that no one wanted to be the person to break. The door to the conference room opened slowly as a hush fell about its occupants. Cutter walked in, supported by a hovering Jenny and a wooden cane.

The applause was, in Jess's opinion, well meaning and happy, but from the hidden pained expression on the professors face, not entirely necessary. It faded away as he smiled, albeit wearily. He still looked pale, Jess noted, but the fact he was up after the event that should have been his death was far better than she had ever dared hope for. "Alright, alright." He said, waving his free hand as he tried to hush the applause, "I'm back and it's all very wonderful, but anyway moving on..."

The people in the room did seem to take the hint after that. Cutter's stay in hospital wasn't discussed and to their credit he was only asked if he was okay a dozen times before his irritation became practically palpable. The meeting turned out to be extremely routine until they reached the last item on the agenda.

It was Lester who cleared his throat and began, "All we have left to discuss is the matter of...well, our future staff." All eyes turned to Jess, Matt and Emily. Matt remained unreadable, Emily straightened and looked around the room as if daring anyone to challenge her and Jess tried to make herself look as benign as possible. Becker's knee nudged hers under the table as she shifted uncomfortable with so many eyes on her.

She found his hand and gave it a quick squeeze before she started talking. "We're stuck here." She began bluntly. "We haven't got the prototype to create an anomaly and the chance of anything opening up to where we want to go are practically non-existent."

"Couldn't you just build another one?" Piped up Connor before realising what he'd said, "Not that I want you I go, I didn't mean it like that! I just...I'm just gonna shut up now." He finished in a mumble but didn't miss Abby's affectionate eye roll.

Matt took over the explaining, "We've changed the timelines too irrevocably." Jess tried and failed to not look to guilty at the mention of the changes that she'd wrought. "Even of we did manage to get back nothing would have changed, we'd just be slightly in the future. You would all remember everything and nothing would be any different than it is now."

"Which means you are stuck with us." Said Emily brightly, "So we will continue to work here."

Lester narrowed his eyes at the Victorian woman,"Oh you will, will you?" Jess smiled as she figured out what had rankled him so much. He knew as well as she did that there was little other option than to have them work at the ARC once more but the fact that Emily was so sure of it bothered him. After all, they all knew how much Lester cared about his illusion of a controlled work atmosphere. "Yes," replied Emily happily, "we will."

Jess could tell from her tone that she knew what was bothering Lester but had simply chosen to ignore it. The man in charge of them all blinked owlishly, before sighing, "Yes, very well, I suppose you will." He sat back down and there was silence in the room for a moment, "Well? What are you waiting for?" He burst out, "Go! Work!"

There was a flurry of chairs scraping backward as everyone stood up and moved to get back to their stations. There was a friendly chatter in the air as the people moved around and it was only to easy to get lost in it and slip away unnoticed, apart from the hand that tugged her in one direction. When they finally stopped it was in an empty corridor only a minute away form the armoury. She smiled and looked up.

Becker stood with her, an ever present smirk on his lips. "So, you're staying then?" He began lightly.

Jess grinned and brought a hand up to card through his hair. Such lovely hair. "I guess you're just stuck with me." She said as she quoted Emily's earlier words.

Becker adopted a thoughtful expression, "Well, it's a good thing I don't have any intention of letting you go."

Jess's smile was beginning to hurt and yet she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it, "That is a good thing." She murmured before he leant down and kissed her. This time the kiss wasn't soft or desperate. It wasn't anything apart from a promise.

After all, they had all the time in the world.

...

A/N- Right first off, thanks for reading! I know it's been a long time since the last chapter...sorry! But I thought this might make up for it. I think I've finally done it, the end is in sight! Only the epilogue to goand this story will officially be done! Thanks to all of you and particularly the ones of you who message and remind me that people might actually want to see this finished during their lifetimes. Thanks for reading and all reviews are welcome! VE


	24. Epilogue

_Jess's smile was beginning to hurt and yet she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it, "That is a good thing." She murmured before he leant down and kissed her. This time the kiss wasn't soft or desperate. It wasn't anything apart from a promise._

_After all, they had all the time in the world._

Two years later 

Jess screamed as her chair was wrenched to face the opposite direction.

Abby shushed her frantically, "Shut up!" She whispered, "Don't draw any attention to yourself."

Jess looked her incredulously and then to Emily who stood behind Abby's shoulder. "What are you doing?" She whispered back furiously.

Emily leant forward conspiratally, "We have exciting news!" She murmured eyes alight, and sweeping the quiet ops room as though getting ready to depart with a great secret.

A frown crinkled Jess's brow, "What?" She asked, a little wary of what could cause such a reaction. With Emily it could be anything from Lester having a nervous breakdown (by her reckoning he was due for another this month) or simply a new flavour of pringle.

Emily opened her mouth but Abby spoke over her, "Should we tell her, Emily?" She asked. Jess narrowed her eyes; Abby had every intention of tellng her and they both knew it, she was just enjoying hanging it over her friend's head.

A shadow passed over Emily's face before she caught on, "I don't know...after all, we wouldn't want to ruin _the suprise." _

Jess gave them her full attention. "What are you two going on about?" She asked, her curiosity momentarily overpowering common sense. One of the two should she could usually manage but with both of them against her she wasn't sure whether to be excited or worried.

"Well, we really shouldn't tell you..." Drawled Abby looking down, barely concealed glee written all over her face. She gave in when Emily elbowed her and Jess glared. "Alright." She said, snatching a chair from a near table and joining Jess in front of the ADD. "So y'know that mission earlier today?"

Jess knew the one she was talking about. Fairly routine with no incursions though it had interrupted her lunch with Becker. She'd been in communication it's them the whole time so there wasn't really anything to worry about, although it was annoying as they didn't really get as much time together as she would like-

A sharp pinch brought her to. "Hey!" She said indignantly.

Abby scowled impatiently, "I'm trying to tell you something important!" She said, "I need your attention!" She looked back at Emily who smiled and waved for her to carry on. "Okay," she continued, "so I swear I didn't mean to cross any boundaries or anything," (Emily gave a pointed cough which Abby steadfastly ignored), "but Becker was acting really weirdly all the drive back. He kept checking his pocket for something but when Connor made a joke about him looking shifty he just turned read and ignored him."

Jess had an inkling she knew where this was going but she prayed she was wrong.

"- no comment or anything. So when we all went for our debriefing he took his coat off and stepped out of the room for a second, so I kind of...went through it."

Abby did look a little repentant though not nearly enough for Jess not to let out a shocked "Abby!" Emily, on the other hand only cackled rather alarmingly at the look of horror an Jess's face.

"It was totally worth it!" Insisted Abby, "Because guess what I found!"

Jess had been right to be worried. She knew exactly where this had been going.

"What?" She asked, hoping for a different answer to what she knew it would be.

Her friend paused for dramatic effect before it looked like she couldn't hold it in any longer, "A ring!" She burst out triumphantly, "A diamond ring that- funny enough, looks like it would fit you quite well!"

Jess's heart sank.

"He's going to propose!" She crowed.

Abby was too busy grinning and so it was Emily who picked up on Jess's less than enthusiastic response. "Jess?" She questioned quietly, "You don't seem quite as happy as we'd pictured."

Abby's grin froze on her face. She opened her much to say something but Jess beat her too it.

"Come one guys, I'm a field coordinator. Did you honestly think I didn't know about it?" She asked despairingly.

Abby seemed a little put out that her shocking news had become less so but more confused over anything else, "What d'you mean you already knew-"

Emily's eyes lit with sudden upstanding, "Ah," she said sympathetically, "and just how long has the Captain had this ring?" She asked sagely.

Jess's shoulders dropped dejectedly, "About three months."

The mood of the conversation swung rapidly.

Abby's eyes widened before narrowing, "I thought we'd got him over this emotionally retarded state of his?"

"As did I." Murmured Emily, "You mean to say that in three months he has been unable to screw up the courage to ask you to marry him?"

Jess didn't bother answering, instead looking at them both dolefully.

Abby gave a small chuckle, "I don't know why we're surprised." She said casting a look at them both, "You did have to literally travel through time to get his attention." She said to Jess.

Jess sniffed, "Well, I'm not doing it again just so he'll finally ask. He knows what the answer will be."

"And what will your answer be?" Asked Emily interestedly.

Jess shot her a sarcastic look, "It's obviously a no." She deadpanned "Everone knows of the torrid affair I'm having with Lester."

The sight of Lester, who had emerged from his office only to catch the tail end of the conversation, only served to make Abby laugh uproariously and Emily to give a very unladylike snort. Jess made a mental note to prepare for the inevitable breakdown that was now coming probably sooner than later.

"So you're going to wait for him to ask?" Said Abby with a smile.

Jess shrugged, "I guess so, I mean, he'll get around to doing it eventually...won't he?" She looked at them with a hint of desperation and the doubtful glances they received hardly built her confidence. She groaned, her head falling to her desk.

Emily looked at her uncertainly, "Why not...ask him yourself?" She ventured cautiously.

Jess looked up, ready for them both to laugh again but Abby interjected with an oddly thoughtful look on her face. "That's not a bad idea." She said looking at Jess.

"I suppose." Said Jess uncertainly. The idea had never really occurred until Emily mentioned it, but there wasn't anything stopping her. "But what if he actually wants to ask?"

"Tough." Said Emily brusquely, "He's had enough time by now, if you don't do it, you'll probably be waiting on him until your hair has turned grey."

Jess considered both the notion and the fact that Emily their perfectly ladylike relic from the nineteenth century had turned out to be the driving force behind it. "But how would I ask?" She said trying to keep her voice light.

"Dinner?" Suggested Abby.

Emily shook her head, "Maybe just...come out with it? How hard can it be to ask for the Captain's hand?"

Abby and Jess exchanged looks at her wording before bursting out laughing at the image. "Well, I don't know!" Said Emily in exasperation, "In my time it was the man who asked, though I doubt they put this much effort into it."She muttered.

Jess saw the dark look on Emily's face, no doubt put the by the memories of her own proposal and made a spur of the moment decision.

"I'm going to do it." She said firmly, "I'm going to ask for Becker's hand." She cast a mischievous look at Abby who tried unsuccessfully to choke back her laughter and then to Emily who only looked pleased.

~o~o~o~

By the time she got back to their apartment (well, more like Becker's apartment that she had moved into seeing as she hadn't had one of her own) she had already decided that simplicity was the key. She wasn't going to try and psyche herself out with anything fancy or elaborate, she was just going to ask him normally in a normal conversation because after all, she as a mature adult who could handle such things.

That and she was really looking forward to seeing the colour she knew his face would turn.

She waited until they were both sat together on the sofa that evening. They both had their feet up but her legs were slung across his lap. She swallowed down her fear at what she was about to do. Becker carried on talking oblivious to her internal turmoil, "-it wasn't too bad to be honest until Temple tripped over his own shoelaces and nearly fell through to the Jurassic. I swear I have no idea how Abby puts up with him-"

"I think we should get married."

There. She had said it.

She risked a glance at his face. He was staring at her his mouth still open from talking though it was being kept there by shock. "You want to get...married?" He asked in a strangled tone.

"Yes!" Said Jess quickly, "Well, if you want to." She amended. If she had been looking forward to his reaction she wasn't did indeed turn quite an interesting shade of red, though she didn't mind. She thought it suited him quite well. Then again she was probably biased.

"Are you kidding?" He demanded suddenly. "I've been trying to ask you for weeks and you just ask?" His voice got a little higher pitched than his usual time and Jess tried valiantly to keep her straight face. "I even have the ring!"

"I know-" said Jess trying for a soothing tone before Becker narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know?" He asked before understanding clicked, "It was Abby wasn't it? I thought I saw her putting my coat back today-"

"Hil, I've known for a while." She said waving a hand trying to dismiss Abby of the blame purely because of how proud the blonde had seemed when she thought she got away uncaught and unseen when she pickpocketed their head of security, "I just decided to...help you along a little." She smiled at him, scooting closer on the sofa to rest both her hand on his forearm. He was still staring in semi-shock at her as she moved. "So, is that a yes?" She asked awkwardly.

"Yes!" He said quickly, "Of course it's a yes!"

Slowly, Jess could feel a grin stealing over her face. Becker only grinned back. Before she knew it she was hugging him fiercely, refusing to let go. If his grip on her was any indication then he was thinking the exact same.

"Erm..Jess?" Came a slightly hesitant voice from over her shoulder.

She hummed in askance.

There was a small awkward cough, "When we tell Connor and Matt...can we leave out the part where you had to ask me?"

Jess laughed. She would happily agree to it though she doubted they'd believe it. Becker was known for his emotional displays in the same way Jess was known for sitting and working quietly.

And it seemed, as she sat there in what could possibly be the best moment if her life so far, that walking through that anomaly into unfamiliar ground was possibly the best thing she had ever done.

After all, it got her her soldier.


End file.
